Three Little Words, Part 1
by SweetDarkLove
Summary: Crona has been feeling really lonely lately, and having to watch dozens of couples daily didn't help, so will the friendship of one empathetic chain-scythe change his mind, and will that friendship perhaps blossom into something more? Rated T for Ragnarok's language, and references to slight sexual content in later chapters, but not M worthy. REVAMPED: see ch.1 AN, Ch6 Revamped
1. You're Not Alone

_**Ok everybody, I do believe I am the first ever legitimate FF.N CroBaki shipper. Honestly though, I'm a little surprised this hadn't been done before, I mean sure, there were a few pictures here and there throughout the internet, but nothing totally legit.**_

_** Quick thing, if I get good reviews and decide to continue the story, this will eventually evolve into lemon. I haven't seen any lemons which have been taken down recently, so I am hopeful this will survive if the change comes.**_

_** So yeah, tell me if you want to see this continue, if not, well then I'm just going to drop it, and who knows, maybe this'll even inspire other CroBaki fans to write their own stories. I can only hope.**_

_** REVAMPED: Just something I noticed about my story when I decided to read through it myself, there a quite a few grammar issues throughout the story so I am going to be going through it and fixing those. Another thing I noticed is that a lot of these chapters fly by quickly and certain scenes could be a lot better, and so I am going to also be tweaking the chapters as I read through them.**_

_** So yeah, tell me what you think of the final products as they come out. And now, for those who have already read this, go ahead and check things out, and for those who are just now being introduced to this story and paring, I welcome you and hope you enjoy it.**_

* * *

Crona sat with his knees to his chest as the long black tendrils snaking out of his back dragged their sharp tips against the dirt underneath him, making many ruff illustrations of the faces of everyone he knew in the academy; the only thing about them though was that they were all in pairs. There was Soul and Liz, Patty and Kid, and then there was Maka and Black Star, and each one of them was smiling down on the ground in front of Crona as he stared back bitterly.

He looked down at the pictures of Maka and Black Star and a tremor went through him as he hugged his knees to his chest harder, a lump forming in his throat. When the two had first announced that they were a couple Crona felt heartbroken. He was happy for them of course and wished them nothing but happiness, but that one part of his soul that cared about Maka, the one that loved her for all the good she brought to his life, shriveled up a died in spiteful envy, knowing that Crona would never get the same feelings from her. And so, as the days passed by into weeks Crona began noticing that everyone in the academy, every single last one of those people, they all had someone who cared about them, who loved them, and him… he had no one.

Once Crona saw these things around him his life only got worse afterwards and ever so slowly a bitter hole began forming in the boy's heart, one that grew every time he saw two people hugging and laughing, or whenever he passed a pair kissing. It all made him sick with envy because he knew; he knew that he would never know that feeling. And all of this made him angry too, because out of everyone in that academy he _deserved_ to know what love felt like because all he'd ever known in his life was hate. His mother had been disgusted with him from the very day he was born; she always called him a failure and treated him like something beneath up until the very day she died. Almost everyone in the academy besides Maka and her friends hated his guts and wanted him dead because of the things he was _forced_ to do by his mother and then everyone in the city was afraid of him.

It was so unfair and it made him feel so damn _angry_ too! Every time someone called him a freak, or shoved him in the hall as they walked by, he wanted nothing more then to hurt those people, he wanted to make them bleed, make them scream and cry and feel nothing but bottomless despair just like he did throughout his entire childhood… but he knew he couldn't… because then the people he cared about would hate him and he couldn't deal with something like that. And so he never showed any of his anger or bitterness when he was around everyone else, but when he was out here, alone in the forest next to the DWMA, he let that anger out.

Crona stared down at the smiling faces of his friends, looking down at all that happiness, all that love, all of those feelings he would never get to feel and then the tendrils slashed to the side, cleaving clean through the pictures. He still stared down at the pictures as the tendrils stretched out and raked through the trees in front of him, taking out a large tree about the same size as the one he had his back pressed against.

"It isn't fair" he grumbled as one of the tendrils stabbed into the tree and dragged it towards him "why do I always have to be alone?" the other two tendrils slashed down and cut the tree into three halves "why can't I have someone who cares about me like everyone else?" the tendrils began chopping the tree apart over and over again.

"Maybe because you're too much of a pussy to do anything about it" Ragnarok slid out of his back and rested his chin in Crona's hair "come on Crona, all of this stupid forever alone crap is bumming me out, even hitting you doesn't make things fun anymore" he sighed and then he groaned, shot up and hit the boy in the back of the head, but he didn't respond "god damn it Crona! Why don't you just go out and find someone! I'm sick of this!" he groaned.

"Haven't you noticed Ragnarok? I've tried finding people, but there's no one out there to find" Crona responded as all but one of the tendrils slid back into him "you've seen the same things as I have, everyone has somebody in the academy, and they all want nothing to do with us" he reached out and picked up one of the small, near perfect square blocks of wood "and from what I've seen, that's never going to change" he got up and then walked around the tree.

Crona placed the block at the bottom of the large V as the tendril in his back slashed a line through the four separate lines on the back of the tree behind him then slid back inside him. He looked down at the ground beneath him and then walked away from the large incomplete message he was making out of the small wooden blocks, feeling bitter and hating the fact that it had gotten this far. The message was something he had decided to do a while ago, about a month after everyone seemed to stop noticing him altogether, everyone had more important things to be doing with their loved ones then so much as glancing at lonely little Crona it seemed. He knew that this was a selfish though, that they were all doing what normal people did with the ones they cared about, but still they could at least stop and say _hello_ to him if they passed him in the halls! But no, he didn't even get that much from them.

And so this is what resulted from all that neglect: a message that so far read "I giv." He came out to this spot deep inside the forest every day and carved out a small block of wood to add to the message, more specifically one block of wood for everyday someone picked on him and no one else cared, one for everyday he sat alone while everyone else got to enjoy life. And he'd been doing this, one block after another for the past couple months actually, never once stopping as he was ignored by everyone else.

He had tried to change it too, that was the worst part of all of this. He had _tried_ to find people in the academy to be friends with, and he'd also _tried_ talking with his current friends too, but no matter how hard he tried, all of the people he didn't know shunned him and called him a freak or monster, and the people he did know, the people he had trusted for so long paid no attention to him whatsoever no matter how many times he tried talking to them.

And so he decided something, he decided that if he couldn't find one person who actually gave him a chance, one who actually didn't walk away talking about the pink haired monster, or ignore him all together to talk about assignments they were having trouble with or anniversaries that were months away before this message was complete and he burned it into the ground… he'd just give up, on all of it.

_** Later in Class Crescent-Moon**_

Tsubaki sighed upon seeing Crona enter, mainly because of the lonely look in his eye as the students avoided him walking past them, whispering about him behind his back. She frowned as she watched him walk past their row and her eyes followed him as he went further away from anyone. These past few months had been so hectic that she and the others hadn't really had time to notice anything else… so when did he move all the way up there?

"Hey guys?" she turned to the others who were busy talking with their partners, in passion not profession "have any of you talked with Crona lately? He seems lonely" she glanced back at him as he kept walking "really lonely."

Maka frowned at her then looked back in his direction as he took his personally switched seat at the top corner of the room, about a few solid rows away from everyone else "now that you mention it… no, all these tests and assignments have had me so wrapped up I hadn't even noticed him."

Tsubaki glanced back at Crona with growing concern then back to the others "have _any_ of you talked to him?"

"No… now that I think about it I haven't talked to him in forever" Liz frowned but then her eyes widened when she remembered something "oh my god… he tried starting a conversation with me and Soul a few days ago" her expression filled with guilt "but then I remembered an assignment we had and I tore off dragging Soul back to class to go get it, I totally blew him off back there."

"Yeah, that still wasn't cool at all" Soul rubbed a bruise on the back of his head "I mean, did you have to drag me by the foot? I could understand the wrist, or shoulder, but my foot?"

Liz smiled for an instant but when she glanced back up at Crona her look saddened "god, he must be feeling lonely as hell, I'm pretty sure he tried talking to all of us once and we all had something we needed to do so we just left him hanging."

Patty and the others all looked back at Crona and then nodded slowly as their faces showed their growing sense of guilt, though the boy was staring down at the desk in front of him writing out one of his sad, self loathing filled poems so he didn't see them "I left my crayons back in my locker so I had to run back and get them" Patty remembered sadly, thinking back to her ditching him to go get her crayons so she could draw more giraffes.

Kid looked down with a sigh "I remembered that one side of the chalkboard in here was a few inches higher than the other so I ran back to fix it" he remembered ditching Crona to deal with his OCD.

Maka looked the saddest of all "I had a few books I needed to return so I didn't even give him a chance to talk" she remembered blowing past him, only giving him a "hi" as she ran past him "and Black Star is always too busy fighting to ever talk with him."

Tsubaki then noticed something "uhh, Maka, speaking of which, what happened to Black Star?" she looked around not finding him.

Maka sighed "off fighting with Mifune again, he's so confident that he can beat him with one hand tied behind his back and he keeps sneaking off to do it" she shook her head with a smile "honestly, he's so sure he can do everything he says, he's a total idiot" she chuckled and sighed happily "though it's that confidence in himself that I find so attractive."

Tsubaki and the others all chuckled and giggled at that, but then they all calmed "I can't imagine what it's been like for him these past few months, just look at how the other students are treating him" she gestured to a few students who were tossing paper balls back at Crona. They missed most of the time but one finally hit him in the head and Tsubaki and the others scowled at the students, but while the sad, lonely, bitterness in Crona's eyes increased he showed no other reaction as the students laughed and high-fived.

Maka glanced back at him and saw his look and her scowl deepened. She reached below the desk and pulled out one of her dictionaries which she then threw, hitting one of the students in the back of the head, causing him to collide face-first with his friend with enough force to knock them both out "jerks" she growled looking back at Crona before her look softened with sadness "… we need to do something, he's been all alone lately, with no one to talk to at all, along with everyone picking on him, something like that must be bringing back some bad memories."

The others nodded and then were silent as they began brainstorming. What could they do to make Crona feel better? After neglecting him for so long some of them wondered if he would even want to see them, but they pushed those thoughts back quickly, hoping otherwise. They were silent for a while but a thought finally came to Soul as he tapped his finger on his shoulder thinking "huh… you know I guess we could always invite him over to mine and Maka's place; it's been a while since we invited the whole gang over."

Liz nodded with a smile "yeah, at least there won't be anything there to keep us from talking with him, and some of Maka's cooking is bound to make him feel better."

Maka smiled at that as well "well thank you, I didn't think my cooking was that good."

Soul grinned and chuckled to himself "I don't think she was talking about taste Maka, I think she meant because it was made by a friend."

Maka scowled at him "what? Are you saying my food isn't good?"

Soul looked the other way with a sly smile "you said it not me-" the crack of a book rang through the class but no one seemed to notice.

And so after Liz managed to pull Soul's head out of the imprint of his face on the desk left there by Maka's book the group agreed that they would have a party to try and help Crona out. Throughout the entire class they all began glancing back at the boy, worry and sadness filling their features, but they always brightened up when they thought of what they could do for the party. They hoped Crona enjoyed it, from the look on his face you'd think he was about to break down at any moment.

…

The last bell of the day rang throughout the academy right about the time the group had finished planning what they'd be doing for the party and Tsubaki offered to stick back and tell Crona about the party seeing as how she had some work she had to finish and turn in anyway. Luckily for her, and if not somewhat sadly, Crona always stayed behind in the classroom writing out his sad poems and drawing out miserable little scenes in his sketchbook before he usually decided to leave and head home.

Tsubaki put the last of her work on Stein's empty desk and then looked back up at Crona, he still looked miserable up there all alone. She then walked up the steps to the boy's row and noticed that he was wrapped up with writing a poem, so wrapped up even that he didn't notice her come up to him. She knew she shouldn't and that it was going into his privacy but she couldn't stop herself from looking over his shoulder to see what was on that paper. She simply skimmed over it, but she got the gist of what was down there: misery, loneliness, despair, and anger, she was surprised to see a lot of anger down there too.

She breathed out a sigh as he kept writing, but before he could go any further she tapped his shoulder, startling him "hey there Crona."

He looked up to see who it was and was surprised with who he saw "oh, uhh, h-hi Tsubaki… h-how have you been?" he asked in his usual timid voice, but then he twitched and closed his book quickly, his face red. How long had she been there? Ohhh, he hoped she hadn't read it, he couldn't deal with something as embarrassing as that.

Tsubaki smiled at him through and shrugged "the same I guess, Black Star has been the same handful he's always been."

"Oh, w-well… that's good I guess" he looked over to the side "so um… d-do you need something?"

Tsubaki watched him as he gripped his arm with discomfort and her expression saddened, but then it brightened right back up "I wouldn't say it like that, but yes, I came up here to tell you that we're having a little party over at Soul and Maka's" she smiled softly "they're inviting all of the gang over."

Crona looked back at her with a frown, not understanding "w-wait, they're inviting… _me_?"

Tsubaki smiled brighter "of course silly, you're part of the gang too, one of our friends."

Crona expression filled with surprise and he stumbled for words "I- well I-I mean…" she was inviting him to a party? At Soul and Maka's _house_? What should he say? He wasn't expecting something like this; he didn't know how to handle surprises like this!

"So do you want to come?" she asked, frowning a bit now at his anxious expression.

"I… I-I-I just… I don't think that…" he saw the disappointment filling her features and immediately felt guilty. He didn't want to make her sad, she was just trying to give him an invitation, but what should he say? He didn't know if he could talk to the others after all this time "… sure, o-of course, I-I'd love to come" _what?!_ He kept his expression level but on the inside he was yelling _"why did I just say that! I hadn't even thought about it yet!"_

Tsubaki was smiling again "that's great! The others are going to be so happy to hear that you're coming" she reached into one of the pockets in her clothes and pulled out a slip of paper "it starts around eight tonight, you don't have to dress up in anything special but you can if you want."

Crona took the paper and read it over "t-thank you."

"No problem, see you there" she waved then went to turn but she stopped on the first step and looked back "and Crona?" he looked up at her "… we're sorry that we haven't talked to you in a while, and I know this just sounds like and excuse but we've all just been really busy lately."

There was another shock for the boy "oh, I uh, I-I-It's no problem, I-I mean you haven't done anything wrong, I-It's really no big deal" he was still surprised that he was invited to something, but now he was getting an apology too?

Tsubaki shook her head "no, it is a big deal. For someone like you Crona, someone who's been alone for almost his entire life, you shouldn't have to be lonely anymore, and we've all been bad friends by not talking with you."

"I… no you didn't do anything wrong" he shook his head and then forced out a smile for her, he needed to think and needed her to leave now "I just… thank you."

Tsubaki smiled back sincerely and then waved "no problem, well I guess I'll see you later Crona."

"Yeah… see you later" he waved back and when she left the room his face fell, any trace of happiness gone.

Ragnarok came out and looked at him with confusion "the hell is your problem? You just got invited to your friend's house! You should be happy!"

"I'm going to my friends' house, the one where everyone in it will have someone with them, someone they're going to hug, and kiss, and love, and I have to watch them" he looked down bitterly "I can't believe I said yes! What kind of idiot am I?" he shook his head "stupid-stupid-stupid! How could I be so-"

"Shut up!" Ragnarok snarled and punched him, but not in the head this time, no this time he punched Crona right in the nose. The boy gripped his nose in pain and looked up at his partner with shock "alright that is it!" Ragnarok put his hand on his 'hips' and looked down at Crona angrily "for the first time in a god damn while someone has been nice to you, hell they even went so far as to invite you to their house, and here you are thinking about refusing it!" he yelled.

"But Ragnarok-"

"No! Shut the hell up and listen" he jabbed his finger into the boy's face "I swear to god Crona, if you don't go to this party and freakin enjoy yourself then I am going to rip out your toenails one by one and shove them so far up your ass that you're going to know how your feet taste! Do you understand me?!" Crona just stared up at the demon, the shock he was feeling written all over his face "I asked you a question."

Crona twitched and nodded as quickly as he could "y-yes sir, w-whatever you say."

Ragnarok crossed his arms and nodded, looking the other way "good, now let's go home and get you cleaned up, you look like a god damn mess" he slid back into Crona's back "that means now dumbass!" the shot up and walked back to his apartment as quickly as he could.

He didn't know how to deal with this situation at all!

…

Tsubaki had ended up bringing some food along with her when she and Black Star showed up at Maka and Soul's place… alright, she had brought a _lot_ of food. She knew for a fact that no matter how much Maka loved Black Star there was no way that she'd ever be able to keep up with that appetite of his. The others all appreciated her bringing all of that food too.

Especially Black Star who was looking down at the food and drooling "oh man, this looks awesome" he reached down for it, but then Maka's hand snapped out and slapped his hand "owww. What?" he frowned at her.

"Wait until we're all here" she ordered.

"Who's left?" his frown deepened and he looked around.

"Crona, he was invited too" Tsubaki told him.

Black Star crossed his arms "Crona huh? Man I haven't seen him in forever."

"Well maybe if you didn't fight everyone every day you'd have time to look for him" Soul chuckled shaking his head.

"I hope he shows up, he definitely needs something like this" Tsubaki looked at the door with worry.

Black Star still looked confused "what do you mean? Did something happen?"

Maka looked at him like he was an idiot "are you serious Black Star? Think! When was the last time any of us even talked to him?"

Black Star forehead scrunched up as he thought "I… wow, you're right, it's been like months hasn't it?"

Tsubaki nodded "exactly, and that's why we're doing this, to try and help him" she looked back at the door again "he seems so hurt all the time; I don't even want to imagine what's going through his head."

"It obviously can't be anything good" Kid breathed out looking over at the door too "he's always been fragile, so who knows how bad things have gotten for him since we stopped talking to him."

"Poor little guy must be miserable" Liz sunk down into her seat feeling horrible with herself "I'm scared for him if he doesn't show up."

Maka frowned now "what do you mean?"

"What do you think?" Liz looked up at her "he's been alone with all these kids picking on his, and all of us, his friends for crying out loud! Have been ignoring him!" she shifted around uncomfortably "so he might… you know… try something we'll all regret."

The others all shifted around now feeling equally as bad, the meaning of Liz's words easy to understand "he won't do that" they all looked at Tsubaki who had a serious expression "he would never try something like that, I know that, he'd try to find something to take his mind off of it, even try finding some people to be friends with" she shook her head "no, he'd never do… _that_ to himself."

"Yeah, Tsubaki's right, we shouldn't worry, I'm sure he'll show up" Maka smiled, though part of her felt that she was wrong. The way he had been in the classroom, so miserable and closed off… she felt equally as afraid as Liz did for his safety after seeing him. How anyone had lasted as long as he did with all that loneliness and suffering she had no idea, but she knew that everyone had a limit and who knew how close Crona was to his. Her smile almost faltered as this train of thought continued, but then there was a knock at the door and everyone brightened up with a spark of hope "there you see! I bet that's him now."

And to everyone's relief and happiness she was right. She opened up the door to Crona who standing uncomfortably on the other side holding a black umbrella and wearing a pair of dark-purple jeans and a long white shirt, something he really didn't know how to deal with wearing, but Ragnarok made him wear it "h-hello there Maka."

She smiled at him, careful not to let to much relief show through and force her to hug him right on the spot "hey there Crona, we're glad you could come, come on in."

He did and after setting his umbrella down on a hook he followed Maka over to the coffee-table and couches where he sat down in an empty recliner-chair. He glanced around at the others and didn't understand why they all looked so happy to see him. Was he just seeing things? There was no way he was just imagining the relief he saw, but it didn't make any sense for it to be there. Why would anyone feel relieved to see him?

His thoughts were interrupted when Maka went over next to Black Star and sat down next to him. She smiled at Crona "we really are happy to see you."

Crona rubbed the back of his head, feeling embarrassed "t-thanks I guess."

She smiled a little longer, but then she crossed her arms and sighed, looking down "alright then, I guess we should get right down to it" Crone frowned at her, not understanding "the reason we set this up and invited you was to help you out, since we saw how lonely you've been, and we also are doing this as a way of saying we're sorry" his frowned deepened "more specifically, we're sorry that we haven't been able to talk to you in so long, we've all just been really busy" she looked over at Kid and then Black Star somewhat accusingly "well not all of us, but we all wanted to apologize for ditching you whenever you tried to talk to us."

"Yeah, we didn't mean to hurt your feelings Crona, if we knew how sad and lonely you were feeling we would have tried making time for you" Tsubaki looked at him sadly "and getting rejected by the other students probably didn't help you at all."

"Really man, it totally wasn't cool what we left you with" Soul reached out and Crona flinched, but he just patted the boy's back, it had been so long since he had positive human contact "sorry."

"Yeah, it's not right for a god like me to neglect his worshippers" Black Star grinned a big grin.

"We're sorry if we made you feel bad" Patty held out a tiny origami giraffe to Crona "we didn't mean it."

Crona looked around at the people around him and inside Ragnarok gave him a small punch _"wow, would you look at that? __**This**__ is what you were going to give up on? Honestly, just think, if it weren't for me, you'd be off moping somewhere instead of getting a well deserved apology"_ he shook his head_ "you really need to stop being such a dumbass one of these days."_

He didn't even notice the tears that welled up in his eyes "you… you're all serious?"

Tsubaki noticed the tears then took off her scarf and handed it to him "of course we are Crona, you're our friend, we're supposed to be there for you when you're feeling down."

Crona took the scarf with shaky hands as everyone smiled at him, and soon he was smiling too after he handed Tsubaki he somewhat damp scarf back "thank you… all of you" he couldn't believe it. They were apologizing to him, they were actually apologizing for leaving him alone "this is really happening right now?"

"Yes, this is really happening right now" Maka got up and gave him a hug "you have no idea how sorry we are for leaving you alone" she backed up and smiled down at him.

He smiled right back before looking down and hugging his knees to his chest "I can't believe it… you're all actually doing this for _me_" he hugged himself tighter "to think… to think I was actually thinking about giving up" everyone's eyes widened with concern.

"What do you mean?" Maka's eyes widened the most when she believed she realized it "you… you mean 'give up' give up?" everyone felt sick when Crona nodded. Liz was right.

"But why would you even think about something like that?" Liz blurted out. Just because she was right didn't make her feel better, it made her feel sick to her stomach.

"Because… because everywhere I went it seemed no one wanted anything to do with me" Crona felt a lump in his throat again and swallowed, trying to push it back "I-I… I tried talking with the other students, I tried making friends, b-but every time I tried they would always call me a freak and walk away" he sniffled "you have no idea how much that hurts, to be forced into loneliness when you try to find a friend" everyone looked down with guilt.

"Did… did any of these thoughts have anything to do with what you were doing in the forest?" Maka asked and slowly Crona nodded "I saw you go in there almost every day, what were you doing out there?"

"Making a message I guess" he took a shaky breath and Tsubaki patted his back as gently as she could "I went there every day, cut down a tree with Ragnarok then cut it into a tiny square and made big letters with them, I decided that if it turned out that no one wanted anything to do with me by the time I finished the message… t-then there would be no reason to stick around."

Soul looked down at him sadly "what was the message?"

"I give up."

"And… how far did you get?"

"I just finished the V today" Soul winced.

"So you would do this every day?" Maka frowned again "but there must have been somebody who talked to you, someone who gave you some chance" she said hopefully.

Crona shook his head bitterly "one person did, at least I thought he did at first" his grip tightened on his arm again "turns out he lied to me, I-it was just a little game he and his friends were playing, it ended up with him leading me to an alley where we were supposed to play some 'game', t-turns out three of his friends were there waiting for us when we got there, apparently the four of them wanted to play punchies… one of the rules was that I didn't get a turn."

Everyone's eyes widened, but Tsubaki's eyes widened the most when she remembered something "four students, a few two-stars… they were found beaten senseless out in an alley near the academy a couple weeks ago, they're still in comas today" Crona looking away did nothing to help her confidence "was… was that you?"

He bent his head forward and his bangs hid his face "… messing with someone is just like bending a branch" he finally answered confusing them "you bend hard enough, the branch eventually snaps… and sometimes part of it hits the person bending" he trembled with some of that held back anger he had "sometimes it hurts that person bad."

Maka looked down at Crona with total sadness, but then her face became serious "well alright then" she got up and walked over to Crona, and he looked up at her as she came to a stop in front of him. She almost looked angry. Crona began shaking, was she angry at him? Was she going to tell Lord Death that he hurt those kids? Maka raised her hands and Crona cringed, fearing a blow, but then he felt two hands on his shoulders "from now on, we are going to have a friend's night, every week so you never have to feel lonely again" his eyes snapped open and he looked up at her with surprise and confusion as she crossed her arms "and we are _all_ going to make as much time as possible for you at school and afterwards during the week" she looked over at Kid and Black Star "right?"

They both raised their hands defensively "of course, whatever you say" the spoke in quick unison.

"Good" she nodded, then looked back down to Crona and sighed "again, we're sorry about everything you've had to go through" she smiled at him "you forgive us?"

Crona nodded quickly "o-of course! Y-you didn't even do anything wrong!"

"Yeah we did, we ignored you every time you tried talking with us and left you alone with all those assholes in the academy" Liz reached out and patted his should "and so we promise to try and make sure it never happens again" she smiled, and soon everyone else was smiling too.

"So!" Black Star looked around at his friends then down to the food, stars in his eyes and a bit of drool out of the corner of his mouth "how about we dig in huh? That food's not gonna eat itself right?" Black Star grinned hopefully and everyone else chuckled and then sat down with their lover, leaving Crona and Tsubaki, the only single people left in the group, sitting at the center of the couch.

…

About an hour passed and Crona was feeling the happiest he had ever been in a long, long time. He finally didn't feel alone anymore, and from what Maka said, they would be doing this every week from now on. He smiled just thinking about it; because he finally had something to look forward to, he finally had something to be happy about again.

This good feeling in his heart lasted a good long while as he and his friends ate the food Tsubaki made, he smiled and got to laugh at the jokes they all told and finally had a chance to feel comfortable… but then his good mood shriveled up when he saw Black Star give Maka a quick cup to the butt, earning a squeak from her followed closely by a chuckle "god you really are confident aren't you?" she grinned looking back at him as he shrugged.

"Confident enough to know you won't do anything to me" he grinned.

"Nothing huh?" Maka wrapped her arms under his and then they were face to face "sorry Black Star, but you know I like being the dominant one" she kissed him.

Patty giggled and laughed at this then pounced on Kid, much to his surprise "yay, fun time, my turn!" she locked her lips against his, and he immediately melted into it.

Soul looked at them and then shook his head "really guys? You just get right to it don't you?" he didn't even notice Liz creeping up on him "so uncool-" Liz pounced on Soul just like her sister did with Kid.

Tsubaki blushed seeing all of them and looked away, not wanting anyone to call her a perv for staring while Crona's face slowly fell. This was why he didn't want to show up in the first place. He felt so stupid getting bummed out because Maka was kissing someone, but he couldn't help it, it make him feel so jealous. He sat there trying to ignore them all but finally he just couldn't take it anymore and he finally got up. Tsubaki felt the couch shift under her and turned to see him leaving and she frowned "where are you going Crona?" everyone looked away from their partner to see him going to the door.

"It's getting late, I-I had better be getting home" he didn't turn, less he show everyone the bitterness and longing on his face "t-thanks for tonight though, I-I-I'll be looking forward to next week" he opened the door.

Maka saw that he left his umbrella on the hook and she raised her hand "oh, wait, Crona, you forgot your-" her hand twitched back when he shut the door behind him and she frowned along with everyone else.

"What was that all about?" Soul frowned at the door.

"I don't know" Tsubaki looked at the door with worry "he looked like he was enjoying himself."

Everyone then heard a small sigh and they looked around to find the source "Isn't it obvious?" everyone looked down to see Blair nibbling on a piece of sushi Tsubaki brought over "he's jealous."

Liz's frown deepened "jealous? Jealous of what?"

Blair raised her kitty eyebrow "oh let me think, maybe the smooch-fest?" she sighed at their blank looks "he's lovesick! He's obviously jealous of all of you, he wants someone to be with, but there's no one out there for him to find" she shook her tiny head "Blair saw the way he way looking at all of you, and she could see that he was 100 percent~" she flinched when there was a flash of lightning and thunder "… jealous" she shivered and hopped into Maka's lap, shaking.

Tsubaki saw the first little drops of rain on the window and her face flooded with worry. Crona was out there, without an umbrella… _alone_ "I'm going to go find Crona" she got up and grabbed his umbrella then tried to get her shoes on quickly "don't worry about me, the rest of you just enjoy yourselves, I'll call you once I get him home."

Maka sat Blair on Black Star's lap and got up along with Soul "you sure you don't need any help?"

Tsubaki shook her head with a smile "no, I think what he needs right now is the comfort of another single" she opened the door and waved for Maka and Soul to sit down "like I said, don't worry, I'll go get him."

Maka still didn't look like she wanted to, but she eventually sat back down "you're going to call right?"

Tsubaki nodded "he'll be fine Maka, it's just a little rain" though she had a feeling that it was the thought of Crona _alone_ in the rain that had the girl so worried. She could honestly say that she shared her thoughts exactly.

_**Meanwhile out in the streets of Death City**_

"What the hell man!" Ragnarok came out and punched Crona's head "everything was going great! Why the hell did you just leave like that?"

Crona shook his head feeling miserable "I-I'm sorry Ragnarok, I just couldn't stay there and watch that, I-I don't know why, it just… hurts" he then tugged at his hair with a whine "ohhh, I don't know how to deal with this weird feeling!" he groaned just as lightning flashed in the clouds followed by the thunderclap.

Ragnarok looked up at the dark clouds and the snarled "oh that's just great! You left the fucking umbrella back at their apartment" he shivered when the first raindrops hit him "damn it! I freakin hate rain!" he slid back into Crona's back as the rain began picking up.

"Wait, Ragnarok, c-can't you make an umbrella or-"

"Rain washes me away you dumbass you know that!" the demon snapped "blood and water do not mix!"

Crona breathed out sadly and then looked up at the dark grey sky as the rain pelted into him. This day had gotten so good, why did it have to get ruined now? "so now even the weather hates me?" he grumbled as he began walking.

"Oh don't even start with that" Ragnarok groaned "just go find a tree or something to sit under until the rain lets up, because there's no way I'm letting you catch a cold out in this, then I'd get sick too!" he felt a jab to his insides.

"Ragnarok! D-don't do that! It feels weird and I don't know how to handle weird things inside me!" he whined when the jabbing got worse.

"Then move it!"

And so Crona ran through the streets, looking for a place to sit under, but there was nothing out as the rain became worse. A few minutes later while he was running he didn't notice a slick puddle ahead of him and when his foot met with it he slipped and fell, banging his head against a wall and scraping his knees. He winced and touched his head where he hit it and groaned to himself when he saw blood, add another thing to the list of bad turns the day was taking. He ran slower now, his knees stinging with every step, and he mumbled and grumbled to himself the entire time about how unfair life was for himself, and everything he was saying was true. He was panting by the time he reached a park with thick enough trees to block most of the rain and he practically collapsed onto a tree. He pushed himself upright and pressed his back against the tree then brought his knees to his chest shivering, not caring now if he got blood on his shirt, he was freezing. He looked out into the rain and groaned when he saw that it had no signs of stopping any time soon.

"Why does my life have to be so hard?" he mumbled to himself.

He heard Ragnarok sigh inside of him _"shut up dumbass… look, take a nap, count tree leafs or something until the rain dies down I don't care"_ he heard a yawn _"or just keep your mouth shut so __**I**__ can go to sleep, I don't want to listen to you right now."_

Crona's shoulders sagged "yes sir…"

…

Tsubaki spent about half an hour looking around this part of the city trying to find Crona but she had no luck whatsoever trying to see the young pink-haired boy. She groaned a little and wished that she could sense souls like Kid or Maka could but complaining wasn't going to help her find Crona in this storm… though it didn't stop her any. She was so caught up with this thought that she didn't notice the slick puddle ahead of her which she then slipped on with a yelp. She stumbled a bit but regained her footing quickly by steadying herself on a nearby wall which she at first thought was slick with rain. She looked at the wall that saved her some pain and then frowned to see that it was dry except for the spot under her hand. Her face contorted with disgust when she thought she had gum or something but her eyes widened with worry when she pulled her hand away to see the blackness on her hands.

Tsubaki quickened her pace her concern growing with each step when she didn't find Crona. She looked through the parks, big and small, underneath the bus-stops, and any other place she could think of that could keep someone out of the rain but she couldn't find him in any of them. She was walking through one last park that was between Soul and Maka's apartment and Crona's apartments and when she couldn't see Crona anywhere she then turned her hopes to that he was already home. She was just heading towards the exit to go check on his apartment when she caught sight of something through the almost impenetrable grey of the rain: a slight flash of pink near a tree.

She walked through the grass towards it and then breathed out with relief, though it was instantly replaced with concern when she saw Crona curled up underneath a big tree "Crona!" he twitched at his name and looked up to see Tsubaki jogging towards him "oh thank goodness I found you, I was getting so worried" she kneeled down in front of him

"Tsubaki?" what was she doing here?

She completely ignored him through and grabbed his chin "are you alright Crona? I've been out here looking for you forever" she has?

"I… I-I'm fine, b-but Tsubaki-"

She again ignored him and gently turned his head to see the scrape on the side "oh, just look at you, you're a mess" she gently tapped it and Crona winced "sorry" she took her hand back and sigh "your head is all banged up and your knees are scraped too" she got up and held her hand out "come on, we need get you home, you're probably freezing out here, and this is all definitely not good for your scrapes" Crona stared at her hand with a frown. She smiled down at his confused face "well come on Crona, you don't want to make me wait do you?" she chuckled.

"Oh, no I-I, uhh…" he shook his head "Tsubaki, w-what are you doing out here?" he asked taking her hand and picking himself up.

"A little bit after you left we saw the rain and that you had left your umbrella so I came out here to come find you and help you get home" she saw his surprised look and chuckled more "what? It's not like I had anyone back there to stick around with, and besides, I needed to get out of there anyway, I just hate having to watch people kissing, it makes me feel like a perv" she blushed a bit, before pulling him under the umbrella with her "come on Crona, don't just stand there" he was blushing beet red at the close proximity he was to her and she noticed this. He always did have a problem with being close to people "don't worry Crona, you're fine" she put her hand on his shoulder "now come on, let's get you home."

"R… right" he was so confused, why had Tsubaki come all the way out here for _him_?

…

It had taken them some time to get back to Crona's apartment because they had to bypass some of the areas that had some minor flooding, but they eventually made it there. Once they made it inside Tsubaki immediately ordered Crona to go take a shower and wash off all the dirt he got on him from when he tripped.

After the door to his bathroom shut Tsubaki took the cell-phone out of her dress and dialed up Maka's number, she hadn't talked to the girl in nearly an hour since leaving to go find Crona. The phone rang twice but instantly on the second ring she heard it connect "hey Ma-"

"DID YOU FIND HIM!" Tsubaki cringed from the receiver.

"Yes Maka, I found him" she rubbed her ear "he fell down and scraped himself up a bit trying to find a place to get away from the rain, but other then that he's fine, he's in the shower now."

Maka breathed out with relief on the other end "thank goodness, when you didn't call back after all that time I was getting scared."

Tsubaki smiled "yeah, I had some trouble with the rain, but it worked out in the end" she glanced over at the door to Crona's bathroom "I'm going to stay with him for a little longer, help him with the scratches on his-"

"_Tsu~ki_?" Tsubaki frowned at the static cutting through Maka's voice "can… -arely… -ear you" she looked down at her phone and saw the problem.

"Sorry, Battery, Battery, Battery" she said hoping Maka would understand if there was static.

She waited a while longer for a response "…-k… -baki… -ee you to-…-row" Tsubaki disconnected it after that.

She sighed shaking her head "knew I should have charged it at Maka's place" she mumbled setting the phone down on a coffee-table. She sat there for a little bit but then she began glancing around the room she was sitting in to see how Crona lived. Honestly, he didn't seem to live very happily because everywhere she looked there was nothing but grey wallpaper and bare tables. Maybe she'd have a talk with him tomorrow when they met at school, he should at least live comfortably in a nice looking apartment.

She was just looking at one of the bare walls, imagining a panting that would look good that Crona would like when the door to the bathroom opened up and Crona walked out in a white tank-top and boxers, it was the only thing he had available at the time. His face was incredibly red when Tsubaki gestured for him to sit at the couch.

"Now you just sit there and relax for a little bit" she looked around at some of the closets "and also, can you tell me where your first-aid kit is?"

"Oh um" he shifted around thinking "t-the hall closet, top shelf" he then shook himself as she went to get it, why was he telling her that "T-Tsubaki you don't have to help me out, t-the first-aid is only for serious-"

"Oh just stop already Crona" Tsubaki came back with the small box with a red cross on the back "I doubt you could take care of an injury like this with small-duty bandages" she pointed out as she took out one of the big yet thin, tan bandages, pealed it open and stuck it on the side of Crona's head "I know you heal quickly and all, but still, I've noticed that it just feels better with a bandage covering a scrape" she pulled out a few smaller Band-Aids and stuck them on Crona's knees "there we go, that should do it."

Crona was frowning at her the entire time, blushing as well "why are you being so helpful?"

Tsubaki looked up from his knees and frowned right back "what do you mean? I'm always like this with my friends."

"But why me?" he asked and Tsubaki's frown deepened.

"What do you mean?"

"Why are you being so nice? Y-you came out looking for me in the rain, y-you helped take me back home, a-a-and now you're putting Band-Aids on me, I don't get it" he shook his head.

Tsubaki's look softened "you're my friend Crona, and the others may not come right out and say but we all care about you" she put her hand on his shoulder and smiled "and friends take care of friends Crona" he slowly smiled at her. He was just about to thank her, but then he suddenly felt his nose itch and he sneezed over his shoulder. and Tsubaki immediately went back to being motherly "oh no, did you catch a cold out there?" she shook her head and helped Crona up "come on, I think after the day you've had a nice relaxing sleep would do you some good."

"Uhh, y-yeah, right" Crona blushed deeper; a girl had never gone inside his room until now.

Tsubaki looked around the room and saw that it was pretty much the same as the rest of the apartment, though she noticed that it was rather clean and tidy for a boy's room. She had never seen a cleaner room that belonged to a boy in fact, but then she realized this was Crona she was thinking about so of course it would be clean. Crona's thoughts on the other hand were about different things, mainly being that he was worrying about what she thought of his room, he hoped she didn't think it was dirty or something.

"You aren't much for decorating are you Crona?" she asked jokingly.

He shifted around "I… I-I'm afraid the shop owners won't let me buy from them."

"You do?" her expression saddened "Crona, just because a lot of the students wont give you a chance doesn't mean you need to be afraid of everyone" she patted his back then sat him down on the bed "and besides, if you want any one of us will come with you to help if a clerk does treat you badly."

There it was again, Tsubaki being so nice to him "hey Tsubaki?" she hummed, looking around the room "h-how did this happen?"

She looked back to him with a frown "what do you mean?"

"T-the party, the apologies, e-everything, how did it happen?" just today things had been so horrible for him, and then it got so much better.

"Oh, well actually we planned it today during class" he backed up in surprise "I saw you come in today looking sad, and then we all realized that we hadn't even talked to you in a while."

"You're why this happened?"

She chuckled a bit "oh come on Crona, I'm sure that one of the others would have seen you acting that way even if I didn't."

It was because of her… she was the reason the others had finally noticed him again, she was the reason he had something to look forward to again in life. He looked up at her as she went back to looking around his room, thinking of things that would look good "… Tsubaki?" Crona eventually asked from his seat down on his bed and when she looked at him she saw him looking down, his bangs hiding his face "I… I want to say thank you."

Tsubaki smiled and waved her hand "oh don't worry, I'm happy to help-"

"No really" Crona looked up and Tsubaki now saw a look in his eye that she had only seen when he looked at Maka… pure appreciation "it… I-it really helped, e-everything you did for me today" he gripped his other arm and looked back down "y-you're the first person other then Maka… to… to ever be this nice to me, n-no one else would have helped me like you did, no one would have even noticed me."

"Crona…" he kept going though.

"No one else would have even bothered looking for what you saw today" he didn't even notice that he had started crying "they would have just whispered, and thrown things, and made me feel even worse" he looked back up at her with that same look "but you… you helped me, you probably ended up keeping me from ki-"

"Don't" her face flooded with seriousness "don't even think about that anymore Crona."

"… I'm sorry" his gaze fell to the floor again "I-I just wanted you to know what you did for me, so… s-so thank you" he took a shaky breath and gripped his arm tighter "t-thank you for being such a good friend to me, f-for being a good friend when no one else would."

Tsubaki looked down at him sadly and then she sat down on the bed next to him "Crona, Crona look at me" he did as she said and she brushed away the tears from under his eyes "I'm not your only friend, you have to remember that, you have so many other people who care about you, so don't think such a negative thought, ever."

"But it get's so hard" Crona shook and sniffled "I-I was alone for so long that I thought it would always-"

"Crona" he shut his mouth and silenced himself "I want you to understand what I'm telling you, especially when I say that something like that will never happen again" she hugged him "I promise you that I will personally make sure that it doesn't, and that you get to enjoy life from now on" she smiled over his shoulder while he tried to realize what was happening. Someone… someone who wasn't Maka or Miss Marie, was _hugging_ him "but I'm not the only one who's going to be helping you, because if you remember, you have a ton of people who want you to be happy" she backed up and patted his shoulder as he sniffed and rubbed at his eyes.

He was thinking about such horrible things, it made her feel sick that someone as young and innocent as Crona was thinking about something as horrible as… ending everything. He deserved better in life then what they had put him through, all that loneliness, that pain, and because of it he had gotten so bad that he was going through with something like that. She didn't want him to go to sleep with such horrible things still in his head… but what could she do?

She thought about what she could do for him as she rubbed his shoulder while he finished clearing up his eyes. She saw a leftover tear in his eye and wanted nothing more then to hug all those negative feelings out of him and make him feel happy… wait… why couldn't she? She smiled when she thought back to her childhood and something her mother did with her when she felt sad.

"Alright Crona, I think it's time for bed for you, you definitely need" she got up and pulled the covers of his bed up, gently led him down under them, and then got in after him.

"T-Tsubaki! W-w-what are you doing?" he stammered as she gently wrapped him in a hug.

"I don't want you going to bed with such a negative thought in your head" she rested her chin on top of his shoulder "and so I thought I'd do this, it's something my mother always used to do when I was feeling down, and it always helped me forget what had me feeling so bad" she softly rubbed his back

"T-Tsubaki, please, y-you don't have to-"

"But I want to" she rubbed his back softly "it's alright Crona, go ahead and hug back Crona, I don't mind at all"

"Tsubaki…"

"I'm telling the truth Crona, you can hug me, I know that you want to, so go ahead" very hesitantly Crona did as she said. Tsubaki's smile deepened "see? Doesn't this feel nice" he had to admit he liked this feeling… this warm, welcoming feeling he was experiencing right now, it felt like when he did this with Maka and Miss Marie, he always liked their hugs "so Crona, have you forgotten yet?"

What was she talking about? Oh… right… what had been happening to him "n-no" Crona almost sadly, whatever Tsubaki was doing it almost worked there, but he just had to go and mess it all up "I'm sorry."

"It's perfectly alright Crona, when my mother did this it was never that easy" she smiled and hugged him tighter "well… I guess I'll just have to stay here until you do then" she patted his back as he twitched.

"What?! B-b-but you can't stay here! I-I mean, I-it's not like I don't want you to, b-but you don't have clothes, a-and tomorrows a school day-"

"I can call Black Star to bring me some" she chuckled to herself.

"But-"

"He's always awake training for hours before we leave for school anyway, so a quick jog over here would just add onto it, and adding exercise to his routine is something he loves doing " he was about to protest again but she shushed him "don't worry about Crona, I want to be here, no one is forcing me to help you, I want to make sure you get a good night's sleep because _I _want to, so go ahead and go to sleep, and let me see if I did it in the morning."

Crona felt like protesting more. He wasn't worth all this trouble, no matter what kind of treatment he deserved, all he wanted was to be noticed, he didn't want people wasting their time on him. He tried pushing her back but she just hugged him closer "ah-ah-ah, what did I say? He tried doing it again, but she just giggled and held him close again so he just gave up on it and relaxed into Tsubaki's hug. This soft, warm, caring hug.

He always wondered why hugs felt so good to him and slowly, ever so slowly, he let all of his thoughts go, all he focused on was how warm it felt. It was nice… to be hugged by another person, the sweet, soft touch, the scent of the person he was embracing, the feeling of someone actually caring about him… huh, he was feeling bad about something right? What was it again… oh well, maybe he'd remember in the morning.

* * *

_**Alright, yay or nay? Should I go along with this story?**_

_** And for all of you out there who don't understand this, just take a look at Tsubaki, she's basically a more sensitive, caring Maka minus the short temper and the chop *nottomentionthebiggerbreasts * cough, cough*. So yeah, why wouldn't something like this make sense with the motherly love filled Tsubaki?**_

_** REVAMPED: So, what do you think about it? As you can see I have added onto scenes and made them longer and more evenly paced. I've also taken care of every grammar issue I could find, but there could still be some that I missed. Oh well anyway, for those who have read the story already, tell me what you think about the newer version.**_

_** So, for what I'll be doing for the other chapter: I am going to be adding a ninth chapter for each time I revamp one of the eight chapters but I will take it down a few minutes later so it'll be gone, so be sure to ignore it if you come across it before it's taken down.**_

_** So yeah, be sure to watch out for the newer revamped chapters and tell me what you think of them.**_


	2. You Two Did What!

_** Ok, thank you all for the reviews so far. And if you all wouldn't mind, do you think I could get some advertisements? I believe that at least a few of my current favoriteers are authors themselves. You don't have to it, it's just that I'm new and all so my name hasn't gotten out there yet. **_

_**Anyway, yeah, just a quick little thing, this is more of a fan-service chapter, a nice little bit of situations where Crona is basically going to lose his mind because of things Tsubaki will do (insert evil laugh here). So yeah, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter and now without further adieu, here we go with chapter two.**_

_**REVAMPED, hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

Crona's mind finally began sparking back up and taking notice of the world as his body woke back up in accordance with his usual schedule. And the first thing that his body noticed was how soft his pillow felt against his cheek… but then he also noticed how warm it felt too. His eyes were still closed but his face scrunched up into a sleepy pout and so he reached up to try fluffing it, or flipping it over. The moment his hand touched it however his eyes snapped open when he heard a slight "uhn" in response when he touched something big, warm, soft, and much rounder then his pillow had ever felt before.

Apparently Tsubaki hadn't let go of Crona throughout the entire night, but the two of them had moved in their sleep to where she was currently cuddling with him curled up on top of her… and in such a way that he was now face-first with her cleavage. Crona just stayed there for a moment as he tried to come to terms with what was in front of him and the next second he shot up out of Tsubaki's embrace and out of the bed too, blushing deeper then he had ever done before as Tsubaki woke up after him, brushing away a few sleep tears from her eyes.

She yawned and then stretched, making a few things pop "… morning Crona, how did you sleep?" she smiled over at him, but then frowned at how red he was "are you alright?"

"I-I-I'm fine" he said quickly "a-and I slept good too, t-thank you for asking" Crona stuttered looking away "um… uhh, t-thank you… t-thank for helping me yesterday" it was the only thing he could think to say at the time "y-you really helped."

Tsubaki smiled at that, completely oblivious to what he had just done to her a second ago in his sleep "that's good, I'm glad that you're feeling better" she got up and stretched again with a little groan. She then looked down at her clothes and remembered that she needed to call Black Star to come bring some over… but first… "hey Crona?" she noticed that he had some trouble looking at her "is it alright with you if I use your shower? I just want to get cleaned up for the day" she knew that she was imposes a bit, but she had to do it somewhere.

Crona's eyes widened some at the request but he quickly recovered "oh, um, s-sure, I-I-I mean it's the least I can do right?" he shifted around on his feet but Tsubaki smiled with a "thank you" and went off to use his shower and the moment she left he fell back on his bed trembling. The mere thought of Tsubaki naked in his shower, with water running across that soft warm body-_"WAIT WHAT! What am I thinking!"_ he snapped to himself in his mind _"I shouldn't be thinking about a friend like that! What's going on? I-I don't even know how to deal with thoughts like that!" _was it because of what he did to her when he woke up? How did that make any sense? Especially for someone like _him_!

"Well I sure know how to deal with this" Ragnarok slid out and crossed his arms "honestly Crona, this is just awesome" his mouth opened up and he grinned "in fact, I say we take advantage of this situation."

Crona looked up at him with a frown "what do you mean?"

Ragnarok raised an 'eyebrow' down at his Meister "we got a big-tittied, curvy chick taking a shower in the next room" his forefinger glowed black and became some strange kind of corkscrew "all we gotta do is poke a little hole in the wall and-"

"WHAT!" Crona shot back upright and stared at his weapon with horror "no! I-I-I can't do something like that! That's pervy! A-and if I did do that then she'd hate me forever! I-I don't want that!"

"But think of what we could see-"

"No!" Crona shook his head and smothered his pillow over his face "no-no-no-no-no-no-NO!"

"Aww come on Crona-"

"No! Just stop talking Ragnarok! I'm not listening! La-la-la-la-la-la-la…" he whined as his partner shook his head and slid back into the boy.

How could Ragnarok even think of asking something like that, after everything Tsubaki did yesterday to help Crona? He was a dirty pervert that was why, Crona thought with a pout, why couldn't he get a polite tame person put into him huh? Why did he have to get _this_ put into him? He sighed and sat back upright on his bed, his life was so difficult… but at least he had friends like Tsubaki to help him through it. He looked down at the bed under him and then hesitantly put his hand down on where he and Tsubaki were a few minutes ago. The bed was still warm from the two of them lying there and he pulled his hand back quickly, shifting around uncomfortably before he scooted over to the edge of the bed. A _girl_ had slept in his bed with him… no one had ever done that before _ever_, and yet Tsubaki, one of his friends had done it, heck she offered and pretty much forced him to do it.

Why did she do that? He kept wondering about this for a while, so intently even that he didn't notice how quickly the time flew by in his apartment. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the click of his bathroom door and he turned to see something he definitely had no idea how to deal with. Tsubaki… wet… in nothing but a white towel that barely went down to her knees.

"Hey there Crona, thanks for letting me use your shower" she smiled rubbing her face with another towel.

Crona's hellfire red blush was back with a vengeance at the sight of her. Was she playing with him right now, or did she really not realize what she was wearing in front of him? "Um… uhh…" he looked down quickly.

She noted how he was acting and she frowned "really Crona, if there's something wrong you can tell me."

He waved his hands "oh no, no, n-nothing's wrong it's just… t-this is weird for me, h-having a girl in my apartment I mean."

Tsubaki relaxed at that, that made sense to her, this being Crona's first time with a visitor, of course he'd be nervous "oh, well that's okay Crona, you don't have to worry about me" she looked around "I just need to call Black Star and I'll get out of your hair."

Crona found his eyes drifting towards her chest and he bit his tongue, the sharp pain snapping him out of it "kitchen" he pointed her in the direction and she turned with another thank you and Crona managed to keep a squeak down when he saw the outline of her butt through the thin towel. He quickly sent his eyes down while on the inside he was thinking _"why? Why is this happening?" _he was practically begging for an answer for what was going on right now _"why am I doing all of these perverted things?"_

_"Come on Crona, it'll be so easy"_ Ragnarok snickered silently_ "all you have to do is say you were going to get breakfast, then 'trip' and grab a hold of her towel-"_

_"Shut up Ragnarok! Just shut up"_ Crona shook his head, trying to rid himself of all of the thoughts that were beginning to swarm into his mind _"you're just making things worse."_

And meanwhile in the kitchen Tsubaki had no idea the mental breakdown she was causing Crona as she dialed Black Star's cell number. It rang for a little bit and after the fifth ring she was about to hang up and try Maka's but then she heard a click "… yo who's callin'?" Black Star asked impatiently on the other end and Tsubaki couldn't help but sigh. Her partner, the bluntest of the blunt.

"What have I told you Black Star? That's not how you answer someone on the phone when you pick it" Tsubaki said leaning on the counter.

"Oh Tsubaki it's you! Where have you been!" he asked loudly awake now.

"I stayed over at Crona's and helped him go to sleep" she frowned "didn't Maka tell you that I called?"

He rubbed his head on the other end with a grin "oh, yeah about that… you see I kind of made a comment about how Crona need's to get a girlfriend one of these day to help him with his stress, and I suggested that Blair could maybe… 'take care' of him until we found him someone more permanent" he chuckled while on the other end Tsubaki found herself pinching the bridge of her nose "and while Blair was all for the idea Maka… well you know how it is, book to the head, hitting me so hard I get knocked out, yadda-yadda-yadda."

Tsubaki sighed again "right, well yeah, I stayed over here to help Crona out" she leaned back onto the counter shaking her head. Why was he so _blunt_! "and since I hadn't planned on this I didn't bring an extra pair of clothes so I just need you to come over and drop me some new clothes off" she brushed a little bit of damp hair out of her face and over her ear.

She needed a new pair of clothes. Black Star smirked on the other end "oh really? You slept over at Crona's last night and need new clothes now huh?" his tone changed to something very suggestive "how exactly did you… 'help him sleep'?"

Tsubaki nearly dropped the phone as her face burned bright and she stared down at the receiver. So God damn _**BLUNT!**_ _"What is wrong with you Black Star?"_ her voice was an enraged whisper as a vein pulsed in her forehead.

"What?" he laughed "it's just a question Tsubaki."

"But it isn't one you just go and ask over the phone" her grip on said phone tightened.

She was about to continue but then she heard something that sounded like bed-sheets rustling "hey… who's calling Black Star?" Tsubaki recognized Maka's voice.

Tsubaki smiled then "hey Maka can you hear me? Do you think you can do something for me?"

"Tsubaki? Oh, uhh, sure what do you need?" Tsubaki told her what Black Star said and for a moment the line was silent as Maka stared at her boyfriend for a moment and then a second later Tsubaki heard the sound of wood breaking very violently "… there we go, anything else?" Maka asked with a whole lot of irritation on her end "because if not then after Black Star wakes back up and picks the pieces of my door out of his head I'll send him off as soon as possible."

"Nope, that should do it, thanks Maka" Tsubaki hung up feeling better already, though she had to remember to keep a shuriken ready for when she saw Black Star. It was one thing for him to be a blunt pervert around her, but he took it to a whole new, extremely unapproachable level when he involved innocent little Crona in his dirty mind. She was so glad that he boy was in his room right now so he didn't hear any of that, because if he did and he asked what Black Star had meant… she breathed out, that was one situation _she_ didn't know how to deal with.

She sighed and walked over to the living room to wait Black Star and eventually Crona came out of his room in his usual black robe attire. She again noticed how hard it was for him to look at her and she frowned "um… d-do you want something to eat? Y-you're free to have anything" he offered as he tried with every scrap of his will not to look at the slick sheen of shower-water on Tsubaki's legs, those curvy, soft looking legs- _"why does my mind keep going there!"_

_"You're a guy, sure you're a weak, pussy-like little kid, but a guy no less"_ Ragnarok snickered _"a sheltered, and abused kid like you, all that stress that built up over your life has to go somewhere, and so the actual inner man part of your mind is finally reacting to the nearest stimulant, giving you something to help work off that stress"_ it was weird how Ragnarok could make being a pervert sound like a science _"in this case, it would be the wet, big breasted girl wrapped in nothing but a towel sitting on your couch"_ he chuckled again _"I don't really see why you're complaining though, I say you should just sit back and take as many mental pics as you can, cause you're probably never going to get another chance like this"_ Crona couldn't help but frown when he heard what sounded like a camera snapping _"I know I'm enjoying myself right now."_

Crona ignored his partner and finally found the courage to speak again "T-Tsubaki?" he asked chancing a glance over in her direction "why… w-w-why are you being so open around me? I-I-I mean you're wearing nothing but a towel."

Tsubaki giggled at him "because I know you wouldn't do anything to me" she shrugged and smiled "other guys probably would have lost it by now and tried getting this towel off me, but I know that you would never do something like that, being the way that you are" she didn't realize how rude that had sounded but she was talking about his innocent nature.

"Oh, uhh, thank you?" he was trying to figure out if he should be flattered she trusted him that much, or offended because she just basically offended his manhood… what tiny, insignificant shred of it he possessed, but that's not important, she still offended it.

They then sat in silence for a while and Tsubaki shifted around on the couch "… hey Crona?" she looked at him while he poked at his covered legs "can I ask you something?"

He looked her in the eye and he was thankful for it, at least he could do this without getting embarrassed "y-yes?"

"After we… stopped noticing you" he noted the guilt, both in her voice and on her face "how come you didn't talk to anyone? Like Stein or Miss Marie?"

At the thought of those two his gaze fell back down "oh… those two…"

She frowned at his reaction "did something happen between you?" she found that very unlikely, Stein and Marie thought the world of Crona, they could never stay mad at him for anything. He shook his head boosting her thoughts "then why did you?"

"I… I just couldn't do it."

"What do you mean?" did someone threaten him to keep him from trying to talking to someone?

He was silent again and the look on his face made her worry, it was that same sad look she saw on him yesterday before the party "… after… after everything I did to them, putting the snake in Miss Marie's coffee, a-and nearly turning Stein into an insane slave … I-I couldn't bring myself to talk to them about this" he slid his knees up and hugged them to his chest "I betrayed them… t-they trusted me and I betrayed them because I was too weak to do anything" he hugged his knees tightly "but for some reason they forgave me, and they told me that if I ever needed help that I should come to them, b-but I couldn't because I don't deserve any of it from them" his shoulders sagged and he shook his head "I really don't get that about them, and about you and Maka and all the others."

"What don't you understand?"

"After everything I did to all of you, you deserve to hate me and shun me for the things I did, and yet you try to be my friend, while everyone else in the academy hate's me when they know nothing about me, it doesn't make any sense."

Tsubaki breathed out sadly "Crona" she got up and walked over to him "you should have went to them instead of suffering alone for all that time" she then bent over and hugged him "I am so sorry that we let things get that bad for you, but you still should have gone to them for help, they care about you as much as the rest of us Crona she squeezed him tightly and her head was over his shoulder so she couldn't see the blazing-inferno-red his face had become.

Tsubaki, the still damp girl in nothing but a towel… was hugging him right now _"God… if you really exist, I hate you, I just absolutely hate you- hate you- hate you"_ he groaned in his mind _"why are you doing this to me? Haven't I suffered enough without you doing something like this to me?"_ he asked looking towards the ceiling with sorrow_ "what if I end up saying something wrong or doing something that makes Tsubaki hate me forever? What then? I can't handle losing a friend, especially not one who's been so nice to me."_

And perhaps some higher being did hear Crona and decided to take pity on the poor confused boy because a second later there was a knock at the door. Tsubaki glanced over at it "that's probably Black Star with my clothes" Tsubaki gave him one last squeeze then let go "you should have a talk with them Crona, Stein and Marie I mean, it would be the best thing for both of you" she then walked over to the door, and sure enough her partner was there with a bag "hey there Black Star, good to see you here" a second later he was on his back with a throwing star was plunged into his forehead before he could even get a word out "_that_ was for being a pervert earlier."

"I'm… sorry…" Black Star croaked from down on the floor as a tiny blood-fountain sprayed up from his wound leaving Crona to stare at Tsubaki as she went into his room to go change, but she gave him a sympathetic smile before closing the door though it did nothing but scare him. If she could go from happy to homicidal then back to happy that fast then he really, _really_ didn't want to do or say something to get on her nerves.

…

So after Tsubaki changed and Black Star managed to drag himself off towards the academy, she took Crona up on his breakfast offer. She talked to him softly and kept telling him that he should go have a talk with Stein and Marie almost the entire time and then some while they walked to school. When the two of them reached their classroom and Tsubaki sat down with the other she noticed Crona walking up towards his lonely seat at the top row of the class.

She frowned "hey Crona, what are you doing up there? Come on down here" she called up and Crona looked down at her with confusion as the others nodded with smiles "your seat's been empty for a while now and no one's come to sit in it, so it's free."

"Yeah, come on Crona, it'll be just like old times right?" Soul chuckled waving for him to sit down at the empty seat but when he still had the confused look Soul grinned "come on dude, don't be uncool and leave us hanging, we actually want you to sit with us."

"R… really?" Crona didn't look so sure.

"Please Crona?" Tsubaki pouted playfully "come on, we all want you to sit with us, you don't want to disappoint us do you?" Crona found that he just couldn't say no to that face of hers so he picked his things up and moved back down with the group "there we go!" she patted his shoulder softly.

Crona would be lying if he told anyone ~if anyone bothered to talk to him that is~ that he didn't enjoy this. He looked around to his friends and Maka smiled at him in that way she always did, this really was just like old times. He felt almost giddy about the fact that he was sitting next to old gang, though they had all changed their seats so they were with their lover, leaving him and Tsubaki in the middle, but they were all still the same people he had the privilege of calling his friends after all this time.

…

Eventually the classes of the day reached their end and the group decided to go over to the old basketball court. Crona enjoyed the walk there, but once he made it he decided to sit out as usual. He enjoyed watching the others as they played and it could have been even better, but he kept having to deal with Ragnarok whispering for him to look at Tsubaki.

"Seriously Crona, do you see her boobs? Just look at how those damn things are bouncing" Ragnarok chuckled as his Meister blushed when he couldn't keep himself from glancing at her "and just look at her ass man, that things bouncing just as much-"

"Ragnarok cut it out" Crona whispered angrily as his blush deepened.

Maka had decided to sit this game out too, mostly because she wasn't much of a fan of basketball, and so she noticed the blush that had slowly creeped over the boy's face as he whispered to himself. She closed her book and looked at him closely "hey Crona, you ok?" she frowned when he twitched and looked down and so she followed his original gaze until she stopped on Tsubaki. She raised an eyebrow then went back to looking at him "hey Crona, is there a reason you were staring at Tsubaki?" she smirked when he twitched again and his eyes began shifting around.

He shook his head quickly "no, n-no reason, j-just looking is all" Maka's smirk grew as the others finished their game and came to sit down at the table.

Tsubaki was the first of them to notice how red his face was and her face flooded with concern "hey Crona, your face is red are you alright?" she scooted over and looked at him closer "ohhh, don't tell me you're still sick from the rain yesterday, are you?" she asked and his blush deepened as she put the back of her hand on his forehead and everyone had raised eyebrows then.

"Ok, now I know something's up" Maka crossed her arms and looked at Crona even more closely then before "you've never blushed this much from one of us touching you, so something must have happened last night."

Liz's eyes flashed, she smelled gossip "oooh, something happened with you two last night?" she leaned across the table right in front of Crona's face "come on, spill it."

Crona backed up waving his hands "no, no, nothing happened!"

Kid raised an eyebrow "if it's nothing then why don't you enlighten us? It can't be that bad if you consider it nothing."

Crona's gaze darted between everyone as they looked at him curiously and he was hating every moment of it "n-no, that's not what I mean… I, uhh, I-I, no, n-nothing happened last night, T-Tsubaki just…" how could he say it without them overreacting.

Tsubaki frowned down at him as he struggled and decided to help him out, not seeing the problem with what she did "I don't see what the big deal is Crona, I only slept in your bed with you to help you go to sleep."

Everyone was dead silent as Tsubaki's words sunk in. Tsubaki… had done… what with Crona? She had done _what_?!. Then their jaws dropped simultaneously as the full force of their confused shock.

_**Meanwhile up in the Death-Room**_

Death was standing in front of his mirror picking at a few dust-bunnies off the front of his cloak and whistling a little toon as he did so. He was relaxed and so far enjoying his day, but then suddenly half a dozen bloodcurdlingly loud voices all cried out "WHAT!" simultaneously causing his mirror to shatter and causing the entire academy to shake with the force of an earthquake.

Death looked around the room with confusion then at his mirror, and he sighed "well there goes my day" his cloak sagged and he went to go get a new mirror "I wonder what the heck that was?"

_**And back at the basketball court**_

"You did what!" Maka stared at Tsubaki with utter shock.

"You… you mean that you slept with him?" Soul was just as dumbstruck as his Meister while Black Star laughed and then clapped Crona on the back.

"Wow, nice one Crona, I didn't think you had it in ya!" he laughed at Crona's confused face

"W-what are you talking about?" their reaction seemed much worse then he had thought it'd be.

Black Star chuckled "I never thought that you of all people would have sex with someone with such great boobs like Tsu-" a shuriken hit him in the forehead and a nanosecond later a large book slammed into his face launching him back into a wall with enough force to leave cracks.

Tsubaki took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to regain her composure while Maka ran over to Black Star's fallen body, spitting fire as she chewed him out and shook his numb body by the shoulders "it wasn't like that guys, I just slept in the bed with him and hugged him until he fell asleep, it was something my mother always used to do to help me go to sleep when I was feeling bad."

Liz raised an eyebrow slightly put out by this, she wanted a juicy story, but this was just boring "so nothing else happened?"

"Nothing else happened" Tsubaki then wrapped an arm around Crona's shoulder and smiled "little Crona would never do anything to take advantage of me, he's a good boy."

Kid just shook his head, still working off the last of his surprise "I just can't believe it, I never would have seen something like that happening."

Tsubaki frowned "why not? Crona was feeling sad so I helped him out, what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, it's just surprising is all" Kid shook his head again while a certain mischievous pistol of his secretly smiled.

"Well I think it's cute" Patty giggled nudging Crona's shoulder as he sunk down into his seat. This was so embarrassing.

Liz noted Crona's expression and couldn't keep from chuckling as she looked up to Tsubaki who still had her arm wrapped around Crona's shoulder and slowly she began thinking of something. Crona was single and pretty lonely… and the comment Black Star had made last night, while perverted, did have a point, the shy boy really needed someone to take care of him from now on, but not in the sense Black Star had meant. And so, as she stared at the pare of them she began thinking up something for the boy, and she silently thanked the universe that they had another little party going on next week, plenty of time for her to come up with all the specifics. Not to mention that she wouldn't be alone as she planned. She looked over to Patty who was still giggling to herself about Tsubaki and Crona but then Liz tapped her leg with her foot and she turned to her sister. She frowned at Liz, her facing showing the silent question and then the eldest sister tilted her head over towards Crona and Tsubaki and then tapped the side of her head. Patty immediately understood the gesture and she smiled, giggling even more. They were going to be having fun with the two of them.

Liz then glanced back to the pair with a smirk as Tsubaki gave him a friendly shake _"huh, so poor little Crona is feeling lonely"_ her smirk grew as the boy blushed from under Tsubaki's touch _"well then maybe big sis Liz can help find him a nice little match"_ she looked up at Tsubaki and her smile became a bit more sly _"and maybe I can have a little fun with this too" _she turned around while the others talked and tapped her chin thinking about this new idea_ "hmmm… looks like I need to have a little chat with Blair, I'll need her help for this"_ she chuckled silently_ "and I'm pretty sure that if all goes well with whatever me and Patty come up with then that little cat is going to be making a certain little guy very happy real soon" _she could only hope though that the kid didn't find out that she was planning something, because then he probably wouldn't even show up next week. And nobody would want that now would they?

* * *

_**Ok, short, sweet, and to the point, do you like? If you do then I think you'll all love the next chapter.**_

_**Oooh, what do you think Liz has planned for next week? What's she going to do to the poor unsuspecting Crona and Tsubaki? Give me good reviews and you'll find out, if not then well *shrugs* your loss I guess. JK though, I'll still probably go along with this, I'll just do it that much faster if I feel confident people are enjoying this story.**_

_**REVAMPED: tell me what you think of the new product.**_


	3. Mission Accomplished

_**Ok everybody, just a quick shout-out to someone who in a way helped me make this chapter and enhance the story. This chapter was inspired by **__**Game Night**__** written by **__**ScytheMeister88**__**, and by the way, I take no credit for the idea, it was all ScytheMeister. So yeah, thank you **__**ScytheMeister88**__**, if you ever stumble upon this fic, for your unintentional but still just as helpful… help… I guess… huh, that didn't come out as well as I thought it would…**_

_** Oh well! Time to stop listening to me, because here we go with chapter three!**_

_** REVAMPED: Hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

"So Maka, we still on for Crona-Night tomorrow?" Liz asked after the end of class.

Maka smiled "of course, no way are we ever neglecting him like we did again" she looked down at the boy who was silently laughing with Tsubaki after a shared joke. She watched for a while and found herself smiling "though it looks like Tsubaki has all but completely taken care of that problem" he had been so happy around her lately.

"Yeah, those two have been getting really close lately haven't they?" Liz smirked "I wonder if Tsubaki lied to us back at the court when she said nothing happened that one night last week" she chuckled.

Maka shook her head "no, one thing's for sure, Tsubaki wouldn't lie about something like that" she smiled down at them then "no, she's just a really good person who wants to make Crona feel cared for."

Soul watched the two as they laughed and he chuckled to himself "you know; no matter how many times I look at her she always comes across motherly to me" he shook his head looking at the chain-scythe "am I the only one who sees it? I mean she seems to baby Crona all the time now."

Black Star chuckled "no, she's always been like that" he grinned down at the back of his partner's head "she's always cared about people more then others, and she hates seeing her friends sad" he smiled "yep, there's a big heart in that chest of hers" the others looked at him with some surprise for his out of character soft words, but then he continued "that big, big, chest of her-"

"CHOP!" Black Star's face went straight through the desk and was planted firmly into the ground "what have I told you about talking about other girls chests!"

_"Not… not to do it"_ came Black Star's pain filled, muffled reply.

Maka shook her head down at him then looked back down at Crona and Tsubaki and found herself smiling again "oh well, at least Crona finally has somebody who seems to understand him well enough to make him happy, even I couldn't get him out of that depressed funk of his for a while, but Tsubaki seems to be able to do it easily."

"Yeah, at least he has somebody now" Liz nodded, and smiled on the inside _"now let's see if we can't boost that nice friendly relationship up a notch."_

…

The next day, or night I should say, Crona put on a pair of one of the many items of clothing Tsubaki had helped pick him out when he agreed to go shopping with her, ignoring Ragnarok's constant groaning about being bored and calling him a ~and I quote~ "god damn, no dick, pussy" for actually enjoying shopping with a girl. His current choice of garb was a plain, almost-whitish gray long-sleeve shirt with a few black snap-on buttons at the collar, a pair of ~rather tight-fitting~ black long jeans and a black flat-cap. He normally would have never agreed to purchase something like this, let alone wear it, but Tsubaki's comment on him looking adorable in it changed his mind immediately.

He found that he seemed to care rather highly about the girl's opinion of him as of late. Now he normally cared about everyone's opinion of him, but Tsubaki's seemed to be more important then all of them. He wondered why this was the case for the entirety of his trek over to Maka and Soul's place.

Was it because of what Tsubaki did for him that made him care so much about what she thought of him? She was the first person in forever to notice him and how he was feeling, so maybe that was why her opinion mattered to him to much; he didn't want her to think she wasted her time on him after all. And besides… the hugs he had been getting lately probably helped out too. He blushed a bit at the thought, but then shook it off when he was greeted by Maka and welcomed inside the apartment.

"Hey, the man of the hour's finally here!" Liz chuckled when Crona walked into the living room "and he's looking pretty spiff too" she added earning a deeper blush.

"Yeah man, lookin' cool" Soul chuckled as the boy sat down at the center of the couch with a tiny "thank you."

"So!" Maka plopped down on the couch next to Black Star and everyone focused on her "I've been talking it over with Liz for the past week and we decided that it would be more fun if we had a few game nights mixed in with these little parties" she gestured over to Liz "and since I've got no idea what would be fun I left the game choices up to Liz to decide."

Now any other person who said this sentence would have probably slapped themselves after saying those words, but oddly, Maka didn't see anything wrong with Liz directing the games. One factor of this could mainly be linked to the fact that Maka barely ever talked to anyone and read all the time so she hadn't heard about Liz's reputation when it came to games. Liz had planned on this during the week she had talked with the girl because it was just one of the factors she could manipulate to make tonight all the better for a certain swordsman's relationship.

"Yep!" suddenly out of nowhere Liz had a large empty glass bottle and a large spinning arrow pinned on a piece of cardboard in her arms "tonight's definitely going to be a fun one" she laughed as everyone but Maka and Crona~ the only two of the group who barely socialized~ grimaced.

"Maka… what have you done" Soul placed a hand over his eyes, shaking his head "you've doomed us all."

She frowned "what do you mean?"

Liz waved her hand "oh nothing! He's just joking around" she grinned "so! Who's up for a little Truth or Dare first?" she put the cardboard down and taped it to the floor. The others except for Maka and Crona all sighed and then shrugged getting down onto the carpet in a circle

Tsubaki sighed, getting comfortable "oh well, I guess if we're going to let everything go crazy we might as well enjoy ourselves."

Maka looked at her now her frown deepening "ok, is there something I'm missing here? Because I'm not seeing it."

"Oh there's nothing wrong or anything like that, Liz is great with games" Black Star chuckled "it's just that her choice of games and how they get can be a bit… intimate."

"Intimate?"

Black Star shrugged "Lovey-Dovey, kissing, groping, all the way-"

"Ok!" Maka put her hand over his mouth "I get it… or… I kind of do" she pulled her hand back and looked over at Liz a bit warily now.

The sister smirked at her and then looked down at the arrow below "alright then, if you're done flapping your gums, I get first dibs!" and without another word she flicked the tip of the arrow and sent it spinning.

The arrow spun round and round for a couple seconds before slowing and ultimately stopping on Crona first. He felt a jolt of anxiety but bit it back, he wasn't going to ruin tonight just because he was doing something new "alright Crona, Truth or Dare?" Liz asked with a grin.

He fiddled with his hands thinking. He'd have to do anything Liz said if he chose dare; he shivered at the thought "truth" he said without a second more of hesitation.

Liz smirked, at least he was smart "alright, let me think…" she tapped her chin a couple times in mock thought even though the question was already there "ok, tell us Crona, do you like Tsubaki?"

The boy twitched at the question and began shaking as he blushed deeply while the others ~minus Tsubaki of course~ grinned. This was something they all wanted to knew "oh, w-well I uh… I mean she uh, s-she's my friend so of course-"

"Not what I meant" Liz's grin grew bigger "I mean do you like-like her?" Crona's blush deepened. His gaze shifted around and Liz eventually waved her hand with mock impatience "well? We're waiting…"

Crona looked down blushing furiously "well… m-maybe… j-j-just a little bit" he stammered as the others all chuckled and giggled at him.

Tsubaki smiled with a faint pink to her own cheeks "well thank you Crona, I'm flattered."

"Alright then buddy, your turn" Liz gestured to the arrow.

Crona shook himself and leaned forward, still blushing, and flicked the arrow, where it spun around for a while before ending on Maka and the others all laughed and chuckled in waiting "t-truth or dare?" he asked quietly.

Maka thought about it before shrugging "dare."

Liz smiled as the others laughed more "hey Crona, just remember, you can dare her to do _anything_."

Crona's eyes widened and he looked to the side gripping his arm. He didn't want to do anything mean to Maka, she was his friend, but what could he make her do? He looked around the room trying to find something for an idea and then saw the refrigerator in the kitchen; that would do "uhh, c-c-can you get me a soda? Please?" he added quickly before everyone groaned playfully as the girl got up.

"Aww come on Crona, uncool dude" Soul chuckled "you could have at least made her do something more fun-" he shivered with a yelp with Maka pushed the near freezing metal can against his neck.

"Hey, I did the dare, fair and square" she smiled over at Crona and handed him the soda that he had no intension of drinking. He didn't like the idea of anymore artificial liquids going into his body, look at his situation now because he had artificial blood pumping through him "thanks for not making me do anything bad" Maka then sat down and flicked the arrow, and she smiled when it landed on Soul.

Soul frowned a little thinking about his choices, then finally sighed "alright… dare."

Maka's smile grew "I dare you to sit still and not move, and keep quiet until the next turn."

Soul's frown deepened "what kind of dare is tha-" a second later Maka's book met with his head.

Soul gripped his head and looked like he was about to explode at Maka, but then she wagged her finger in his face "ah-ah-ah, a dare's a dare" she smiled more when he sat down. She laughed then and reached forward "and seeing as how you can't do anything for one more turn" she flicked the arrow "I'll be taking that."

The others all laughed at Soul fuming in silence as the arrow spun until it landed on Tsubaki "truth or dare Tsubaki?"

"Truth" she had nothing to hide.

"Ok, let's see here…" Maka crossed her arms and thought. There was something she was curious about "ok Tsubaki, what really happened last week when you went to go find Crona? The whole story."

Tsubaki frowned at the question then shrugged "I left the apartment and went out to go find Crona, I found him shivering under a tree, soaking wet with a couple scrapes on his knees and head, so I helped him home and bandaged him up after he took a shower, then we talked for a little bit and I got in the bed and hugged him until he fell asleep" she raised her hands up, palms out "true story, no lies."

Maka and the others nodded, seemingly content with the answer "ok, the floor is yours" she gestured to the arrow.

"You totally suck Maka, not cool man!" Soul blurted out the moment it was Tsubaki's turn and the others all couldn't keep themselves from laughing at his sudden outburst.

Tsubaki took a few calming breaths as the others followed suit then flicked the arrow where it spun and then landed on Kid, which earned a mischievous smile from the normally kind girl "ok Kid, truth or dare?"

"Dare" Kid was confident in his choice because of his firsthand knowledge of Tsubaki's kindness. Boy was he in for a surprise.

"I dare you to take off your right ring then your left shoe and leave them off until we all head home" Kid's jaw dropped and everyone looked at Tsubaki with shock as her smirk grew "come on Kid, you heard the dare."

Kid's look turned to one of pained misery as he slowly reached down and pulled off his ring with shaky hands "why Tsubaki? How could you be so cruel?" he was actually crying as he put the ring down and reached for his shoe.

Tsubaki just giggled in response as the others laughed "oh come on Kid, everyone has to have fun sometimes."

Kid just looked sick as he flicked the arrow which then landed on Black Star "truth or dare?" he asked, sounding dead.

"Truth" Black Star answered confidently.

"… How do you put up with Maka?" Kid finally asked "I mean, she hits you for almost every word you say, it doesn't make much sense."

Black Star thought about it for a while then shrugged "well for one thing I like strong girls, and two, Maka really knows how to work the sha-" Maka chopped him face-first into ~or should I say through~ one of the couches, her face beet red with embarrassed fury as the others all gaped at her.

Intimate. Black Star did not lie.

…

And so after Black Star regained consciousness and the teens continued the game for while longer Liz finally held up her hand "ok guys, time to switch up" she yanked the tape off the carpet and slid the cardboard away, then reached for the bottle "time for some Spin the Bottle, you all know the rules" she grinned as Maka grimaced. Black Star was right again, and Soul's words were making sense now. What _had_ she done letting Liz take control tonight?

Crona frowned down at the bottle and raised an embarrassed hand "a-actually… I-I've never played this before, w-what are the rules exactly?"

Liz chuckled at him "if the bottle lands on you, you and the spinner have to kiss" his eyes widened and he began shaking earning another laugh "oh don't worry about it Crona, if you want to get out of it easy you can just hug the other person or kiss them on the cheek, calm down" she snickered spinning the bottle. She smiled when it landed on Soul and she thanked someone else for their assistance as they kissed each other for a full minute. Crona averted his eyes uncomfortably and everyone waited before the two finally broke apart "ok… your turn" she breathlessly slid the bottle over to Soul.

Soul spun the bottle around and everyone's eyebrows shot up in surprise when it landed on Crona. The pink-haired boy looked at the older boy with shock, blushing a horrible red, but then Soul shrugged as he got to his feet "meh, what the hell, I'm cool with hugging a dude" he grinned over at Black Star then walked over to Crona "come here little guy!" he gave Crona a bear-hug, picking the thin boy up and giving him a squeeze, earning a squeak. The others all laughed as Crona squirmed in the albino's grasp before Soul finally released him "there we go, your turn little guy."

Crona sat back down, shifting around as he did so and everyone else watched the bottle wondering who it would land on as Crona reached out and spun it. There were quite a few little "ooohs" when it landed on Maka. Crona's blush intensified a thousandfold as Maka only smiled at him then leaned in and kissed his forehead "there you go, it still counts as a kiss" she smiled as Crona reached up and touched his forehead, not believing what had just happened.

Maka spun the bottle around and crossed her arms with a frown as it kept spinning leaving her to think about if she spun it too hard before it finally slowed and stopped on Patty. Maka rubbed the back of her head somewhat uncomfortably and Patty just shrugged with a giggle, then leaned in and gave the other girl a hug. She then giggled and reached down "yay, my turn!" she laughed spinning the bottle rather forcefully.

The others all watched and scooted back a little as the bottle spun with enough force to send out a gust of wind in every direction before it finally calmed and then stopped on Liz, making both sisters smirk, the two had long since decided on what to do if this happened. All of the boys in the group gaped and blushed as the sisters began kissing each other and slowly a small trickle of blood leaked out of every one of their noses as the two went all out, tongue and everything.

It lasted for about a minute more before the two broke away and smirked, giggling at the boys as they recovered from the spectacle "you guys enjoy the show?"

"Duhhhh…" was the only response their currently fried brains could come up with.

Liz and Patty both laughed at their responses as the eldest sister spun the bottle and it landed on Tsubaki. The two girls only hugged much to all the boy's relief, they really couldn't deal with anymore blood-loss for the night. And then Tsubaki spun the bottle and everyone laughed seeing it land on Crona.

Tsubaki just smiled at the boy as he looked to the side gripping his arm "oh don't worry Crona" she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on the cheek earning chuckles from everyone else as Crona shakily reached for the arrow. This night was getting _very_ awkward for the boy.

He had no idea how to deal with someone kissing him.

…

And finally as the peek of midnight began engulfing the City Liz stretched and groaned a little bit before getting up "ok guys, it's getting really late, so let's do one last little game before we head out" she went into the kitchen and came back with a bowl, a pen, and a few slips of papers "who's up for a little bit of last minute Seven Minutes in Heaven?"

Crona again raised his hand "I-I-I'm really sorry, b-but what are the rules to this?"

Liz looked down at him with an eyebrow raised as she passed the papers out "damn, you really did have a sheltered childhood didn't you?" Crona just gripped his arm looking as embarrassed as ever as she handed him his paper "you put your name on that sheet of paper, then we take turns picking a name out of the bowl" she smiled then "and it doesn't matter this time who you get, you have to go in the closet and you have seven minutes to kiss them"

"You… y-y-you have to do it?" Crona stammered.

Liz shrugged "well, not really, it just makes you a spoil sport if you don't" Crona looked down at the paper and then shakily wrote his name out on it and dropped it in the bowl "there you go" Liz then put the plastic top over the bowl and shook it in her hands, mixing the papers up nice and good before handing it to her sister "alright sis, you can get the honors of starting this last bit."

Patty smiled and shoved her hand inside the bowl, then giggled when she flipped the paper over "Kiddo! Come on, let's go have some fun!"

Kid just got up silently making Soul raise an eyebrow "what, no OCD freakout at it being such an unsymmetrical number of time."

Kid shook his head "I'm already asymmetrical garbage, what's a little more trash on the pile?" he said sounding dead as Patty laughed and grabbed him, she then dragged him over to the closet.

Liz sat back down and yawned as the door slammed closed behind her sister. Today had been good for her, everything had been going according to plan, and Crona had been getting all of the attention she had planned for him to get. Still… it would be nice to know what the others thought "sooo, how was tonight for everyone?"

There were a few shrugs and grins here and there "it was different, that's for sure, and at least now I know not to let you be in charge of game nights" Maka smiled with a laugh, then looked over at Crona "but these nights were made for you Crona, did you enjoy it?"

Crona fiddled with his hands "w-well… any time with you guys is fun" he smiled a bit "but… it was pretty nice."

"Yeah, I'm sure getting kissed by two girls helped too" Soul chuckled and Crona blushed.

Tsubaki frowned at him as he fiddled with his hand "why do you seem to get so flustered over something like a little friendly kiss? It's just a bit of fun."

"Well… I… n-nobody's ever kissed me before now" everyone frowned then.

"Never?" Maka asked and Crona shook his head.

"T-t-tonight's the first night someone has ever kissed my head, o-or my cheek."

Liz crossed her arms and leaned back against the foot of the couch _"never huh? Well let's see if we can't change that tonight."_

A few minutes later Patty came out of the closet followed by a much happier looking Kid "that was fun!" she laughed.

"I bet, knowing you" Liz chuckled "ok then, who wants to go next?" she shook the bowl out in the middle of the circle.

Black Star shrugged and took the bowl "your god wants to go next!" he shoved his hand inside the bowl and then pulled out a slip of paper which earned a big grin from him "Maka" she smiled and got up, then followed him into the closet

Soul looked over to Crona and then Tsubaki and got to thinking. She wasn't seeing anyone was she? "hey Tsubaki, you're single right?" she nodded confirming what he thought. It was weird though, how could _Tsubaki_ be single? "So uhh, got your eye on anybody?"

She shrugged "no, no one seems very good" she crossed her arms thinking "yeah… most of the guys at the academy are really dumb, or they're huge perverts who only want me for this" gestured to her body.

Liz smirked, this was too easy "well what about Crona?" she gestured over to the boy who jumped at her words "he's smart, and he's one of the tamest boy's I've ever met" Tsubaki looked over at him and frowned a little bit.

"I've… never really thought about that before" she chuckled a bit "I suppose he would be a nice enough boyfriend" Crona looked down as the others chuckled "he _is_ smart."

"Come on guys…" he shifted around.

"Shut up Crona" he felt his back prickle and then Ragnarok rested his chin in the boy's hair "you're getting complimented by a hot chick, who's single, so just nod and smile and stop trying to deny all of it."

Liz chuckled at the little demon while Tsubaki blanched "you know Raggy, that's some good advice there" she reached onto a plate where half a sandwich was left "here, have some tuna" she tossed it and Ragnarok's tongue snapped out and caught it while the rest of him didn't move.

He swallowed it whole and shrugged his shoulders "meh, could have used more salt" he yawned and slid back into Crona "god this is so boring, I'm going to sleep."

The others shook their heads, he hadn't come out at all that night, but he chooses to come out for an instant to insult Liz's sandwiches and call their game night boring, just to go to sleep a moment later. He really was a piece of work.

A little while later Black Star came out looking rather relaxed with Maka wrapped around his arm. They frowned at the others and their irritated expression but then shrugged in unison "ok guys, who's up next?"

Tsubaki shrugged and raised her hand "I guess I'll go, get it over with" she took the bowl and reached inside. She really didn't like the idea of kissing someone, but maybe she could convince whoever she got to just say they did it. She rooted around in the bowl for a bit, then with a sigh she pulled a paper out and read it. Her eyes widened with surprise because of who she picked "… Crona" she showed everyone the name.

Soul and Liz got up smirking as the pink-haired boy paled "alrighty then that makes things a bit interesting"

Crona backed up "W-wait a minute Soul, can't she pick someone else-"

Soul chuckled "come on dude, you know the rules" he picked up Crona and Liz picked up Tsubaki, then they pushed them over to the closet "besides, you'll probably enjoy this" Soul then gave Crona a friendly shove inside the closet and then gave Tsubaki a pat on the back before closing the door. The door as it closed bumped right into Tsubaki's backside, earning a startled yelp as it pushed her forward right into Crona, knocking them both to the ground.

Crona rubbed his head and opened his eyes with a groan, just to have that groan catch in his throat when he found himself face-first with Tsubaki's chest again. He scrambled back until his back hit the wall of the closet and he brought his knees to his chest "I-I-I am so, _so_ sorry about this Tsubaki."

Tsubaki waved her hands "no, no it's alright, it's just chance that I picked your name" she rubbed her hands together somewhat uncomfortably "you haven't done anything wrong here"

"Still…"

"Yeah… I know" she looked around the closet as she pressed her back up against the door "sooo… do you… want to do this? I mean, I don't want the others making fun of you."

Crona shook his head slowly "no… y-you don't have to do anything if you don't want to, I-I won't make you do anything just because the others would poke fun at me" he scooted over to the corner of the closet "I-it's fine, really, I can understand why you wouldn't want to do something like this with some like me."

Tsubaki frowned at his words "what do you mean?"

Crona bent his head forward into his legs "I-I-I'm a coward, I-I don't have muscles like the other boys, I-I'm weak, and small" he sounded really sad "I-I don't see why anybody would ever want to do something like this with me."

"Crona…" she had no idea what to say to that.

Tsubaki's look saddened. She brought her own knees to her chest and looked at Crona while he stared at his legs, and she thought about how sad this boy in front of her must be to be able to say things like this about himself. Why did all of this bad stuff have to happen to someone like Crona? He was sweet, kind, he absolutely hated fighting when he didn't have to, so why was it that everyone treated him so badly?

Why was it that no one loved Crona? That thought suddenly wormed its way into Tsubaki's mind and she thought about it for a while. Why was it that no one cared about Crona enough to make him feel wanted, to actually believe that something was good about himself? She stared at the boy with increasing sadness as she began remembering all the times he was treated badly by the other students. They ignored him, they talked about him behind his back, they even openly bullied him, and no matter how hard she, Maka, or any of their friends tried they just couldn't stop all of them. And after everything Medusa had made him do he felt that he didn't deserve to be noticed by Marie and Stein, so they couldn't help him at all.

She looked at him for another full minute before coming to a decision. He needed _someone_ "hey Crona?" she got down on her knees and crawled over to him "Crona look at me" she put a hand on his shoulder and he slowly looked up at her "listen to me Crona, you need to stop saying such negative things about yourself" she put slowly pulled him into a gentle hug and she felt him tense up "you are a wonderful person Crona, I want you to believe that, I really do" she rubbed his back as he recovered from his surprise at their sudden contact "you're sweet, you're kind, and you try so hard to make everyone you know happy" she backed up and looked him in the eye "even when you aren't happy."

Crona looked down "b-but it doesn't matter if I'm happy, I just don't want to be ignored-"

"Be quiet" he looked up to see Tsubaki's hard look "Crona, your happiness does matter, it's something that you deserve to have more then everyone in this entire city put together" she shook her head and then hugged him again "you were hurt, you were abused over your entire childhood and forced to do horrible things, and then you've had to put up with so many people treating you badly because of it" she squeezed him "and you shouldn't have to put up with it, all of those people don't deserve to even be able to talk to you after everything you've gone through, they're the ones who should be trying their best to make _you_ happy, not the other way around."

"But Tsubaki-"

"Out of everyone in this city Crona, you deserve to have friends, one's that don't just notice you, but one's who make you happy all the time" she backed up again and looked at him softly "you deserve to be loved after all you've been put through" he looked at her with confusion as she slowly let go and put her hands on her lap "and so… is it alright if I be the person to make you feel that way?"

"Huh?"

Tsubaki looked down blushing "can I be the one… can I be the one to make you happy, the one to make you feel cared for?"

"Why… w-why are you asking me that?" he looked so confused.

"Because Crona, I want to try changing your mind about yourself, I want to make sure you stop saying so many bad things about yourself, and I want to make sure you never have to feel bad again" she looked back up at him "but I need your permission before I can do any of it… so can I Crona? Do you want me to try and change your mind?"

Crona was shaking before he finally answered "… please… y-y-yes please."

Tsubaki nodded and gently took his hands, then pulled him up onto his knees so they were in front of each other with Tsubaki holding his hands "then just relax Crona" Tsubaki slowly leaned in, trying to boost her resolve by imagining Crona happy "just relax… and let me help you."

But just as she was about to close the space in between them the door snapped open to a loud Patty "hey guys! Time's up!" she laughed into the small room but then noticed how close Crona and Tsubaki were and she giggled, smirking slyly "oooh, did I interrupt something?"

Crona began trembling and tried taking his hands back, but Tsubaki just smiled and gently took them back. He needed this, and she was the only one around who could do it, she wasn't going to leave him alone "no, you didn't Patty" she leaned in and gave Crona a light kiss on the lips. She pulled back a couple seconds after their brief contact and then got up, pulling Crona to his feet along with her as Patty gawked at them with a little "O" for a mouth "I hope I did something to help change you mind Crona" she smiled back at the boy who was blushing very deeply and staring at Tsubaki the entire as they walked back to the circle.

Maka immediately noticed that Tsubaki didn't let go of Crona's hand after they sit down and how much he was blushing as he stared at her "so, how was it?"

Tsubaki smiled at Crona with a faint blush of her own "he's very soft."

Liz and the other's smiled, but Liz's was by far the biggest _"mission accomplished!"_ she laughed in her mind "well, it's good to see somebody's having a wonderful time" she shook the bowl as the others all laughed.

"So, what? Are you two a couple now?" Black Star asked with an eyebrow raised.

Crona didn't know how to react to a question like that. Couples were something he had no idea how to deal with. He had no idea what he would do, or say, or how Tsubaki would act for that matter.

Tsubaki shrugged at the question however "I don't know" she looked to Crona with a smile "do you want something like that?"

Crona's gaze shifted around and he blushed deeply as Tsubaki smiled more. She was so nice and made him feel so happy… and if they were a couple, then wouldn't he be able to experience that happy feeling so much more? He liked the sound of that, he _really_ like the sound of that "… yes… y-yes please."

Tsubaki laughed then looked back at Soul "well, then I guess we're a couple."

The others all chuckled but then Black Star spoke up again "so then Tsubaki, I guess if you two are a couple now, maybe you could help Crona with some of his stress issues" everyone but him stopped laughing but Soul and Kid both face-palmed as flames began flicking around Maka and Tsubaki "your god totally approves if you do, and besides, with a body like yours I'm sure you could help him a lot-"

"SHUT UP BLACK STAR!" Maka and Tsubaki yelled as a throwing star impeded itself in Black Star's forehead and Maka hit him with enough force to throw him out the window of the apartment, but not before his foot caught the bowl in Liz's hand and dumped all the papers out, and then Tsubaki walked over to the window "first off, I don't need your approval on something like that! And secondly, stop being such a pervert all the time!" she yelled down at him. Tsubaki then went back to the circle and sat down, fuming as the others reached down to pick up the papers.

"Man, that idiot's never gonna learn is he?" Soul chuckled picking up two pieces of paper "seriously, you'd think after the first dozen times he got hit he'd-" he stopped when he saw the paper and his face flooded with confusion "what the…" he began flipping the papers over and everyone in the group stared at them with confusion. Mostly because of the fact that they all said Crona "what the hell? They all say Crona?"

"That isn't possible, we were looking at the bowl the entire-" Maka stopped when the letters on the paper shimmered and then all but one of them changed back to the other teen's names. Maka looked down at the paper for a second before a vein bulged at her forehead. Magic "BLAIR! Get out here!" she yelled.

A few seconds later the small purple cat came out of the girl's room "y-yeah Maka?" she asked with some fear and it was here that everyone saw that she had traces of fish around her small mouth.

Maka held up a few of the papers "what is this?

Blair looked at the paper closely "um, that would be paper Maka-"

"You know what I mean!" Maka yelled making the cat flinch "the names were changed with magic, you're the only one here who can use magic, so what's your game?"

Blair looked side to side "I-I don't know what you're talking about."

Maka's eyes narrowed down at Blair, but she knew she couldn't just go and chop her; it's not like the cat did anything that bad. Maka then sighed crossing her arms "alright Blair, fine" she pointed over to the kitchen "there is a plate of grilled Mahi in the fridge" Blair's ears pricked at the mention of fish "that and a bowl of milk are all yours if you tell me what's going on."

Blair changed to human in a poof of smoke "really?" she asked being safe, then she held her hand out with her pinky extended "pinky promise?" Maka took her pinky with her own and Blair's eyes flashed "it was all her idea" she pointed over at Liz.

Everyone looked over at the eldest Thompson and their jaws dropped. The elder sister looked around at her friends and shrugged "yeah it was me, whatever" Liz grinned, not denying it at all.

"So… so all of tonight was you?" Maka pointed over to Blair "the spinning bottle, I wondered why it kept spinning so long when it was my turn."

Blair shrugged with some embarrassment "Blair couldn't think of who to put you with, the loud boy just didn't seem fun enough" she gestured over to the window Black Star was thrown out of "so I went with the giraffe-girl, she's always fun."

"Huh… I was wondering about how everyone had gotten a turn with their match one after the other without anyone else getting paired with them" Soul crossed his arms and looked back at Liz with an eyebrow raised "so… is there a reason you made _this_ happen?" he gestured to Tsubaki and Crona.

Liz shrugged with a chuckle "he just seemed so lonely all the time and I wanted to help out, and since Tsubaki was single and her natural caring self, I thought what the hell, she seemed like the right choice" she laughed then "and I have to admit I loved the way I did all of this, I had a lot of fun tonight."

Blair laughed too and wiped a tiny piece of fish off her lip "so did Blair, I love tuna."

"You bribed her with tuna?" Maka raised an eyebrow over at Liz who again shrugged.

"What? Nothing else appealed to her, it was the only way to get her to agree."

"Well, Blair would have done it anyway, the tuna was just a bonus" she giggled "tonight was too fun for Blair to pass up."

"So you were responsible for this huh?" Tsubaki smiled over at Liz and laughed a little "well thank you Liz, I have to admit I liked what you made me do" she leaned onto Crona's shoulder.

Crona looked over at Liz and silently gave her a shaky "t-thank you" she had just helped make his life a lot happier, he owed her more then he could ever repay "t-thank you for what you did" he looked down at Tsubaki who was still leaning on his arm and he smiled.

"No problem Crona, big sis Liz has your back" she then got up and stretched "well ok guys, I think it's time we hit the road" she smirked over at Tsubaki and Crona "you wanna spend the night over at Crona's again and 'celebrate?'" she and the others all laughed when her words made Crona and Tsubaki go ramrod straight, blushing deep red.

"Umm, no, no I don't think we should do that" Tsubaki gave a shaky chuckle, but then she looked over at Crona and helped him up "I'll uh… see you tomorrow I guess" she gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and then left to go scrape Black Star off the pavement outside.

Crona reached up and touched his cheek blushing, but then he felt a familiar prickle in his back as Ragnarok came out "sweet! Now it'll be all the easier to get in that Tsubaki girls dress!" he laughed and then Crona squeaked.

"Ragnarok!"

"What, you definitely need it, and I totally don't want to live in a virgin-"

"Shut up!" Crona punched up and hit Ragnarok in the jaw "stop saying things like that" he whined walking towards the door as quickly as he could while Ragnarok screamed and began pummeling the boy's head with is tiny fists "I don't know how to deal with you saying things like that!"

"And so you punch me?! What the hell man!"

"Don't go there Ragnarok, you hit me all the time…"

So his life may have gotten a little bit happier. He still had to deal with things like Ragnarok's mouth. Oh well, at least it wasn't all bad, he had Tsubaki now after all right?

* * *

_**So everybody, tell me if you enjoyed the way I did things with the characters.**_

_**Oh and sorry to TheSilentFan for Liz's plan not being the way you imagined it and while I'm sure I cold have made this chapter to be exactly like you wished with this beyond dirty mind of mine, it just wouldn't have done well with the story.**_

_**But yeah, so did I do good? Did you enjoy it? Tell me how I did people. SDL out!**_


	4. Vacation?

_** I'm not dead everyone, I'm not dead.**_

_**Ok, first off, I am really, really, unbelievably, with every fiber of my being, sorry about this taking so long, it's just that unfortunately my dock was in horrible repair and so me and my dad had to fix it… by ourselves, and the freaking rain didn't help speed things along any. And after we fixed it me and my family went on a little vacation so that took a couple weeks too.**_

_**REVAMPED: I hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

_"I really, __**really**__ don't know how to deal with this situation"_ I don't think anyone would.

_"I don't know about you kid, but I think this is awesome!"_ well… almost anyone.

Crona's mind was basically a fiery explosion of all things fearful and distraught as he lay frozen in place unable to look away from what lay beneath him.

"Crona?" Tsubaki asked shakily from underneath him on the damp towel covered floor, her towel hanging loosely over her, barely covering her body.

But I do believe I'm getting ahead of myself, how about I explain to you the events which led up to this moment, yes?

…

"HAHAHAHA!" the basketball slammed through the hoop followed immediately by a laughing Black Star "you see that! You're all nothing compared to a god like me!"

Black Star hit the ground but Maka shook her head while everyone else chuckled at him "uhh Black Star, you do know that it's like 42 to 20 right?" Maka sighed.

Black Star just crossed his arms and "humphed" off to the side "well maybe if I didn't have a total wimp on my team the score would be bet-" a book hit him in the back of the head, slamming him face first into the pole of the hoop.

"Hey! I told you couple against couple wasn't a good idea!" Maka snapped, fuming while Tsubaki high-fived Crona's shyly raised hand, both of them laughing, even if Crona's was somewhat quiet "it's you're fault we're getting our tails handed to us."

"Ohhh… How was I supposed to know Crona had game?" Black Star groaned, picking himself up, rubbing his face which now had a long red mark going from top to bottom "the last time we played with him he totally sucked."

Crona pouted at that "hey, I-I wasn't that bad… was I?" he looked at Tsubaki then over at the others and they turned their heads with little smiles "was I really that bad?" the others, except for Patty who was laughing really hard, all rubbed the back of their heads and sweat-dropped when they remembered Patty basically body slamming Crona for holding the ball to long.

Ragnarok then slid out and poked Crona's head "bad? You sucked more then a Twilight movie" he then pointed over to Soul "and if it weren't for this guy teaching you you'd still suck that much."

Black Star looked at Soul with shock "you? You're the reason this is happening?" he jabbed is finger at Soul accusingly.

Soul raised an eyebrow in response "yeah, he asked for a couple tips so I gave em to him, what's the big de-" Black Star pounced on Soul shaking the scythe's head up and down as he strangled him.

"How _dare_ you betray your god like this!" he yelled as Soul gagged beneath him.

He reached out for Maka "_Maka… a little… help please… chop him… chop him now!"_ he gasped.

Maka just snickered and tried to cover her grin as her boyfriend strangled her partner "oh don't worry, I will…" she looked off to the table where the others, minus Death the Kid who said he had business, were sitting, eating a couple sandwiches "but first I think I'll go have a sandwich" she walked over to the table giving Soul and amused glance "you know, the ones _you_ said were too dry? Guess I'll have to take my time eating them to see if you were right, can't be making bad food can I?" she then glanced over to Crona and Tsubaki "come on guys, have a little snack, you look hungry."

Tsubaki giggled over at Soul and Black Star one last time and went to follow Maka, but then looked back at Crona who was staring at Soul, not knowing how to deal with the pleading look in his friend's eyes "uhh, s-shouldn't we help him?"

Tsubaki just giggled again and took hold of his wrist "oh don't worry, he'll be fine, those two are pretty much always like this."

"Yeah, they're dumb" Patty laughed as they sat down "dummies!"

The other's all chuckled and laughed along with her and eventually they got to eating while Soul managed to get out of Black Star's grip and the two began rolling around the court in a cloud of fists and various other things.

"So Crona, you were doing pretty good out there" Liz pointed out after taking a bite of her sandwich "trying to impress anyone?" she asked with a sly grin in Tsubaki's direction.

Crona tensed and then looked to the side, gripping his arm, blushing "n-no, I-I just wanted to learn how to play is-" a small white fist came out of his back and hit him in the head.

"Anyone ever tell you that you stink at lying?" the rest of Ragnarok slid out and he crossed his arms "you only wanted to learn how to play this stupid game because you thought it would give you a better chance of getting in this chick's pants" he gestured to Tsubaki who blushed a little as Crona shot upright.

"I did not! Stop saying things like that!" Crona whined while the others ~except for Tsubaki understandably~ laughed "I don't know how to deal with you saying things like that."

"What, it's true isn't it?" Ragnarok poked Crona in the nose "seriously, you should hear the crap this kid talks to himself about" he locked his hands together to the side of his head and looked up dreamily "'oh Tsubaki, you're always so nice to me, what I would give to make you hap-'" Crona shoved a handful of food in Ragnarok's mouth, silencing him.

"Cut it out Ragnarok! That's private!" Crona was blushing a horrible red while the others all laughed as Ragnarok gagged on the unexpected food.

He swallowed, took a few breaths and then snickered down at the boy "hey, you're the one thinking up all this stuff, I'm just sharing with the others what you're too chicken to talk about" his mouth opened up and he smiled a creepy smile "like this morning for instance-"

"Hey there everybody!" everyone turned to see Kid jogging over to the table they were at and Crona silently thanked the young Reaper for his distracting arrival.

Patty threw her arms up "yay! Kiddo's here!"

Liz frowned a little as he sat down next to her sister "what's up Kid? I thought you had some business with your dad."

Kid crossed his arms and thought about it for a bit as Patty pressed herself against his side "well… I wouldn't really call it business…" he shook his head and then smiled "but that doesn't matter, because guess who just booked us all a vacation?"

Everyone was silent as his words sank in before Crona broke the silence "v-vacation?"

Kid nodded "yep, I convinced my father that our little group deserves a break after how much we did during the Asura incident, and I was able to book us some reservations at a hotel over at a nice beach resort, along with a spa."

Maka raised an eyebrow "how'd you manage that?" Kid grimaced at her question.

He looked down, his face full of shame "it… involved quite a bit of begging."

Liz covered her mouth trying to keep herself from laughing "you… you mean… you did the whole 'pwease' routine?" Kid nodded and winced when she began laughing along with her sister "oho, oh my god! What I would give to see that!" she laughed all the harder "whenever you do it to me or Patty it's just annoying, but doing that to your dad!" she gripped her sides while Patty bounced up and down, they were laughing so hard.

Kid sighed as his partners continued "it was awful, I hate having to degrade myself like that."

Liz took a few breaths and brushed away a tear while Patty went on giggling "really? You never seem to get bummed out when you beg us for stuff-"

Kid shot up and jabbed his finger into Liz's face, yelling at the top of his lungs "that's because symmetry is always involved! I don't care how much I have to lower myself if it means preserving my glorious symmetry!"

Liz raised an amused eyebrow and pushed Kid's hand away with her finger "so what was the reason this time? What could be worth all that groveling, in front of your own dad of all people?"

Kid blushed somewhat at her question and he sat back down, crossing his arms "I just thought we deserved a break is all-"

"Or maybe it was the thought of seeing Ms. Big-tits here in a bikini that pushed him on" Ragnarok gestured to Patty.

Kid's blush intensified and he looked the other way "I don't know what you're talking about" his reaction told everyone that he was lying, and Patty giggled even more. Kid tried his best to keep the embarrassment out of his voice, but his face just wouldn't stand for it "ok, ok, that's enough, do you want to come or not?" he did his best to sound genuinely irritated.

The others didn't even have to think about their answer "sure."

The only person who didn't answer though, well besides Black Star and Soul though, those two didn't count, was Crona, and Tsubaki noticed this "what about you Crona? Don't you wanna come?"

Crona looked between everyone who was now frowning at him and he felt really uncomfortable "well, I-I've never been to a beach before, I-I don't know how to deal with them."

Maka's frown deepened "but what about that place in your soul? At first it was a desert, but I saw some water in there after I helped you."

Crona smiled at the memory of Maka saving him but then he shook his head "I-it's not the same, a-and I've never even tried going in the water yet."

"Not to mention the sun can't burn you in there" Crona tensed at what Ragnarok said.

"Wait, t-the sun can burn you?" his eyes widened and he looked up at the laughing sun with newfound fear "w-why didn't anyone ever tell me that before?" his eyes began darting around and everyone sweat-dropped as he ducked beneath the table and curled up, shaking.

Maka looked down at him with some confusion as Tsubaki tried talking him out "how could you not know about sun-burns Crona?"

Just after asking that question, Ragnarok popped our from under the table looking at Maka like she was the dumbest individual on the planet "really she-pig? This is Crona you're talking about, you know that right?" he pointed down to Crona who was still shaking underneath the table "when have you ever seen this kid outside in the sun long enough to get anything close to a sunburn?"

Maka mentally face-palmed when she thought about it "ohhh… right… sorry."

Liz smirked down at Crona thinking about something new "you know, I don't think I've ever seen him with a shirt off, wonder what he'd look like in a swimsuit."

"That's another thing; does he even have a pair of trunks?" Kid added.

Tsubaki finally calmed Crona down enough for him to poke his head out from under the table and everyone looked at him for an answer "I-I-I've never even thought of going to a pool, l-let alone a beach" he ducked back in a fraction, blushing with embarrassment "a-and I really don't like new clothes, t-they always feel weird the first time you wear them, I-I don't like weird."

Tsubaki and the others looked really disappointed "so does that mean you don't want to come?"

Crona shook his head "no… no I don't think so."

"Well that's too bad, it won't be as fun without you tagging along" Tsubaki pouted a little, and Crona was about to say something when he felt a small jab inside of him.

_"What the hell are you doing?"_ Ragnarok demanded.

_"I don't want to go Ragnarok, the beach sounds scary, and I don't know how to deal with this sunburn thing they're talking about-"_

_"That's what sunblock is for dumbass!"_ Ragnarok yelled mentally _"and are you seriously telling me you don't want to see what Tsubaki would look like in a swimsuit?"_

Thankfully nobody noticed his blush as Maka pouted along with Tsubaki "you're sure you don't wanna come with? I promise that you'll enjoy it, there's nothing to worry about at the beach."

"Really Crona, you should come with us, you'd like it" Tsubaki smiled at him "and you never know, we might even see a few dolphins out there."

Crona frowned at her "dolphins?"

Tsubaki smiled more "yeah, every now and then a couple dolphins show up around the beaches, and sometimes, even though it's pretty rare, they come up to the people, it's really fun when they do."

Crona thought about it then. He'd never seen a dolphin up close before, only in pictures, and from what Tsubaki said he might even have a chance of touching them. But then there was still the sun problem-

_"What the hell did I say?"_ Ragnarok snapped _"read my non-existent, mental lips: Sun. Block. It's called that for a reason"_ Crona still wasn't sure about it _"come on Crona, be a man for once in your life, are you honestly telling me that you don't want to see her in a swimsuit?"_

"So how about it Crona?" Tsubaki cocked her head "are you positive you don't want to come with us? I promise that you'll have fun if you do."

Crona looked at the ground for a little bit, fiddling with his hands before finally looking up "well… o-ok… I-I'll try it."

The others all smiled and Patty even cheered while Ragnarok laughed inside of Crona _"finally, I thought you'd never grow a set of balls, it's about time you start wanting to see women."_

Crona blushed deeply at the demon's mental words _"it's not like that! I'm only coming with them because they said it would be fun-"_

_"Yeah, sure, that's what it is"_ Ragnarok chuckled a little bit _"whatever you say."_

Crona was just about to say something else when Liz hopped up "well alright then! I guess the first thing we'll need to do is get Crona some swimwear!" before he could do anything she grabbed Crona's wrist and yanked him out from under the table "off to DeathMart we go!"

Tsubaki watched as the eldest Thompson dragged Crona away with Patty trailing along laughing and she sighed "oh dear, I'd better go with to make sure Liz doesn't scar him for life."

Kid jumped up after them "wait a minute! Liz I swear if you buy him some asymmetrical monstrosity I will never forgive you!"

And now was about the time Soul and Black Star had finished beating the living hell out of each other and they noticed Crona being dragged away followed by Tsubaki and Kid "what's up?" Soul asked, frowning at Kid "when did Kid get here?"

"Long story short, we're going on vacation to a resort, Liz and Patty dragged Crona off to go buy him a pair of trunks, Tsubaki went with to make sure they don't mess him up, and Kid went with because he doesn't them to buy something asymmetrical" Maka explained, getting up to go home and get her things together.

"A vacation?" Soul grinned and then he and Black Star high-fived as if they weren't just at each other's throats a second ago "cool."

"Yeah, cool… oh yeah, one last thing" before the two boys could react they were both on the ground with book shaped crevices in their heads and Maka was holding a smoking dictionary "_that_, was for attacking Soul for no reason" Maka pointed down at Black Star before blowing the smoke off her book.

"And… why did you… hit me?" came Soul's pained question.

"I owed you one for calling my sandwiches dry, they weren't" Maka smiled smugly and then walked off to go to the apartment.

* * *

_**Okay, this is going to be a multi-part chapter, I'm sorry that this isn't longer after such a long wait, but yeah, in my eyes, there's just no way to do with without splitting it up between chapters, but don't worry though, I won't be gone forever like I was before, the next chapter will be up before you know it.**_

_**As always, I hope you enjoyed this, if you did, leave a review and favorite, if not, you can always tell me what I did wrong and I will attempt to fix it. **_

_**Until next time, SDL out! Huah-*bangs head against wall* owww… what the hell? How does Toby do that so easily? T_T**_


	5. Crona's eventful day at the beach

_**Ok, I know this one took a while but if you take a look at the scroll bar to your right you will see that this is a very long chapter, it just took a while for me to write, fix, and add onto is all… that and I've been obsessed with searching for and watching the first three seasons of the Mentalist. I apologize for that, I just! Can't! Help Myself! I love that show!**_

_** Oh and before I forget, there is going to be a little tidbit of information at the author's note at the bottom of the fic. It has nothing to do with this story, but still, give it a look if you're interested in all things Crona related.**_

_** And now, I hope that you'll enjoy the newest chapter.**_

_** REVAMPED Chapter, hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

Crona looked down at the bag next to him while the others talked from their location in the back of the limo then reached in and removed his trunks. He looked down at them with growing anxiety "so… d-do I really have to wear this?" he held up the pitch-black trunks ~with one white stripe going down both legs~ in front of him.

Liz looked from Soul to him and smirked "if you wanna go swimming then yeah."

"But… b-but it barely covers anything" he put it down on his lap and felt really uncomfortable that it only went a little below his robe-covered knees "I-I don't know how to deal with something so revealing-"

"Revealing?" Soul chuckled with an eyebrow raised "dude if you wanna see revealing, take a look at what Blair chose to wear" he pointed over to the magical cat who decided to tag along when she found Maka packing. Blair smiled, then snapped her finger and after a poof of smoke she was in a tight-fitting bikini with a Halloween, pumpkin design "_that_, is revealing."

Crona blushed and looked away quickly while the girls rolled their eyes, save Patty who was laughing "Blair, can you please change back before you give Crona trauma?" Maka sighed.

Blair giggled "but it's so much fun, he's so adorable when he blushes" she changed into her cat form, hopped onto Crona's lap and curled up, purring into his legs "Tsubaki's so lucky to have such a cute boyfriend like little Crona here."

Crona reddened a small shade deeper but he smiled at the compliment "thank you Blair" he lightly scratched the back of her ears, earning an even deeper purr. He found that Blair's cat form was much easier to deal with then her human form, which was understandable for someone like him.

Tsubaki smiled at him while he scratched Blair's head, it was always nice seeing him interacting with other people… even if those people were magical animals able to take the form of humans "oh, I just know you're going to have a great time out here Crona" she pulled out the pamphlet of the resort they were going to "I mean _look_ at all of this."

"Yeah, we could never even dream of affording a place like this on our own" Liz nodded and grinned towards Kid "have I told you yet how much I love being partnered with a Reaper like you?"

Kid grimaced "no, most of the time you just steal my credit-card when I'm not looking and leach off all my money."

"Like I said! I absolutely love being partnered with a Reaper!" she laughed along with the others.

…

A couple hours of driving later Kid was checking in at the front desk of the resort while the others all looked around enjoying the sight of such an expensive resort, except for Crona who was frozen with a dumbstruck look on his face. This place was almost as big as the DWMA, the room they were standing in for instance was bigger then any part of the academy he'd ever been in. The thing which caught his attention the most though was the giant, fifteen-foot tall fish tank in the middle of the lobby with a couple sharks and various other large fishes swimming in it.

Black Star noticed Crona's awestruck expression and grinned "problem Crona?"

The boy just kept on staring up at the tank "big" he breathed out shakily.

Black Star just put his hands on his hips and laughed "oh please, this place is nothing compared to the great Black Star! And the best part is I don't charge people for my greatness!" he grinned a big grin, but then a frown slowly crept over his face.

Maka's eyes narrowed, she didn't like that look in his eyes "Black Star…"

"I just thought of something" everyone groaned, that was never good "what?! I was just thinking that I should start charging people for the privilege of witnessing my supreme awesomeness!"

The others, minus the awestruck Crona, rolled their eyes "nobody's going to want to pay you for acting like an obnoxious pest" Kid sneered.

"Why wouldn't people want to pay to see the man who took down the Kishin?"

Soul raised an eyebrow "uhh, dude? That was Maka, remember?"

Black Star waved that away "details, I did most of the work."

Tsubaki shook her head with a sigh as her partner made an ass of himself "Black Star, what have I told you about acting like this in public?" she whispered, looking around the room and sighing again when she saw people's confused and irritated glances "you're drawing too much unwanted attention-"

"There's no such thing as unwanted attention for a god like-" he couldn't finish because of the small book that was suddenly lodged inside of his mouth.

Maka pulled her hand back and crossed her arms "stop yelling Black Star, it's getting annoying" Black Star tried saying something but the book muffled him.

"My god, you actually shut him up for once" Liz laughed.

The others all chuckled along with her as Kid finished with the last of the paperwork for this group "alright everyone, we're all set" he pulled the keys off the desk and read the names on the tags connected to them "we've got rooms up high with the best view of the ocean money can buy" he handed a key to Tsubaki, Maka, Liz, and he kept the last for himself "I also I made things easy, and much less _expensive_-" he cast a glance at Liz who stuck her tongue out childishly "-and paired us up with our dates."

This snapped Crona out of his trance "w-wait, y-you mean we're going to be sleeping with each other?"

Soul chuckled "well, that depends on what you mean by sleeping with each other" he grinned over at Tsubaki "you two are probably just gonna cuddle up together like the last time, all cozy and innocent" he and Liz on the other hand had other plans.

Tsubaki smiled at the albino and put an arm around Crona's shoulder "I don't see why that would be a problem, as long as it helps Crona sleep I'm fine with it" she gave him a quick peck on the cheek which immediately resulted in a new blush and a nervous shifting of his feet.

It had been a couple weeks since Liz's arranged game night when he and Tsubaki got together, and over the time that had passed up to this point he still hadn't gotten used to her kissing him in public. She hadn't kissed him on the lips once like she had that one night, but simply kissing his cheek in private earned a blush, and doing it in public was enough to make Crona nearly explode with embarrassment.

"Well to answer your question" Kid began "there are two beds per room, and each is big enough to fit two people, so while you have the choice to sleep by yourself-" he wrapped an arm around Patty's waist "-I for one have no intention of doing so."

"Here-here" Soul chuckled doing the same with Liz.

"Well wait a minute boys and girls, we still have an entire day left" Blair changed into her bikini-clad human form, catching the eyes of almost every male in the lobby "why are you talking about sleeping when we could be out swimming right now?"

"Yeah, cat-lady's right" Patty grabbed the bottom of her tiny shirt "let's go swimming!" she began lifting the shirt off and Liz immediately grabbed her sister's wrists.

"Whoa-whoa wait a second there Patty" she said quickly "your swimsuit's in the suitcase, lets take them and go change in our rooms ok?"

"Ok!" Patty saluted and in a split-second she grabbed all of the suitcases and was running towards the stairs, barreling through anyone who was unfortunate enough not to get out of the way.

Liz just watched her sister and sighed "honestly, that girl is insane" she shook her head and walked towards the elevators "come on guys, let's make sure we get to the rooms first, we don't want her smashing down the doors to get inside."

The others all chuckled and followed the eldest sister to the elevators taking in the scene of this large room with glee. Once inside the elevator however everyone noticed that it was rather small and so the group had to spend a bit fitting inside, which meant pressing themselves up against the walls and each other which also unfortunately ~or fortunately if you think that way~ forced Crona's back against Tsubaki, pressing him firmly against her chest.

Tsubaki couldn't keep herself from giggling a little from seeing Crona's beat-red features from his position as they began their ascent "comfortable Crona?"

Her question only made him go an even deeper shade and his eyes began shifting around the cramped space "umm… y-yes?" he said cautiously.

"Well that's good" she laughed, wrapping her arms under his and giving him a little hug.

Crona relaxed instantly and soon he smiled at the feeling of her hug. He liked it when Tsubaki hugged him, she was always so gentle when she did it. He looked over at the eldest Thompson and felt another spark of appreciation in his chest, he really hadn't thanked Liz enough for this, it was because of her that things had even started between him and Tsubaki. Maybe he could buy her something, or make some food for her, he'd have to think about it some more.

He would have kept thinking about that and enjoying this nice, tender moment but sadly it was soon ruined for him when a certain demon's head popped out of Crona's back, positioning himself smack-dab in the middle of Tsubaki's cleavage "yeah, this is more then just good toots, this is freakin' great!" Ragnarok laughed.

Tsubaki's face burned furiously and she let go of Crona "Ragnarok! Get out of there!" she grabbed the demon-sword's head and pushed him away, making the boy bend forward a bit.

He pouted as Ragnarok slid back into him, laughing manically. Why did that dirty demon always have to go and ruin things? He straightened up quickly, wanting to apologize ASAP "Tsubaki, I am so sorry about him-"

Tsubaki's sigh stopped him short however "no… no you don't have to apologize Crona" she pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to calm herself down "it's not your fault you have a dirty pervert living inside you" she leaned in and wrapped him in another hug, pulling them back to the wall "but don't worry, I'm a patient girl, I think I can put up with him" she smiled into his hair "and who knows, maybe I can even think of some way to get him to stop."

"Oh man, what I would give to see that" Maka rolled her eyes from her position in Black Star's arms, the book now removed from his mouth, but still in Maka's hand, just waiting for him to say something inappropriate "Tsubaki, you may be able to put up with guys like this idiot here-" she nudged her head back into Black Star's chest "-but I don't think _anyone_ can make that little monster change."

An arm came out of Crona's chest and flashed Maka a very vulgar gesture "yeah, yeah, sticks and stones bitch, sticks and stones."

"Ragnarok!" Crona nearly yelled between a snap and whine "stop being rude!"

"Oh yeah? And what are you gonna do to stop me" Ragnarok began pushing on Crona's nose, causing the boy to squirm and whine more as he couldn't stop him because his arms were locked by Tsubaki's hug "I already know you're too much of a pussy to do anything about it, so I think I'm gonna keep on doing it as much as I damn well-" Crona's arms were suddenly freed right as Ragnarok's arm was severed from the boy's chest midsentence. It splattered to the floor of the elevator and onto everyone's legs, startling them and even causing Liz to yelp.

Crona looked down at his chest to see a thin black blade protruding from where Tsubaki's hand should be, her wrist glowing bright-yellow and then he looked back to see Tsubaki's furious expression "that's enough Ragnarok, I'm not just going to sit here and watch you bully Crona" she said with as much calm, and control she could muster as her hand changed back.

But then Ragnarok's head came out of Crona's chest and he stared up at Tsubaki venomously "you damn cow! Who the hell do you think you are doing that to-"

"Ok, shut up!" Tsubaki's long pony-tail changed into a chain which quickly wrapped around his neck, gagging him and startling everyone else "Ragnarok… I may be a very patient person… but everyone has a line, and you're getting really close to crossing mine" the chain wrapped around tighter and Ragnarok gasped "now you listen to me and you listen good you little monster… I don't care what you have to say, I don't care how much I'm damaging your stupid little ego, all I know is that I don't want to catch you messing with Crona anymore on this trip, or else,_ got it_?" her icy tone told everyone this was a no questions asked order.

The chain tightened after he didn't answer, gagging him again _"alright… alright you damn bitch-"_

Tsubaki's hand curled into a fist and the chain wrapped even tighter, cutting him off but earning a squeal from the demon "and I swear if I hear you say something like that one more time, I am going to cut you into pieces every time you try to come out. Do you understand me?"

_"Ok… ok I get it… I'll stop"_ he gasped.

"I'll stop…" Tsubaki rolled her hand in the air.

_"I'll stop… you magnificent example… of female grace!"_ his X's were literally bugging out of his head as he squeaked out the answer.

"That's better" the chain uncoiled and changed back into her pony-tail, which then fell back down to its original place.

Ragnarok took a few deep, gasping breaths as the others all looked at Tsubaki with shock. They'd seen her get really irritated around Black Star, but they'd never seen her go off like _that_ on someone before "… how… how the hell did you do that?" Ragnarok eventually asked, rubbing his 'throat' "how come I couldn't just slide through the chains?"

"Soul chains, they're almost impossible to get out of" Tsubaki smiled as if nothing had happened "how do you think I'm able to hold people as strong as Professor Sid?"

Ragnarok just stared at her, then shook his head as the blood on the floor and everyone's leg's crept up Crona's and slid back into him "you're crazy" he slid back along with the blood "you. Are crazy!" his arm stayed out to jab at Tsubaki before going back with the rest of him.

Tsubaki then breathed out and smiled, but then she noticed the others staring at her which she tried ignoring at first but she soon began fidgeting with her dress, feeling uncomfortable. Finally she just couldn't take it anymore "would you please stop staring?" she blurted in a whine jolting everyone out of their shock "I lasted longer then any of you would have" she pouted as everyone shook themselves out of it.

Everyone except a certain demon-swordsman "um… T-T-Tsubaki?" she looked down to see Crona staring up at her "t… t-thank you for that."

She smiled softly quickly forgetting about the others and their stares "don't worry about it, that's what I'm here for isn't it?" she kissed his forehead and hugged him again, which he appreciated very much. The two of them remained like this for a little while longer but then Tsubaki opened her eyes and looked around the elevator frowning "uhh, hey guys?" the others looked back at her warily "have any of you noticed how this elevator has been going for a long time-" _ping._ The elevator stopped and the doors slid open just as she said that and everyone got out of there as quickly as they could "well that was odd" she scratched her head as she and Crona stepped out last.

Liz tried calming herself as best she could then looked back at the group, clapping her hands together and smiling shakily "ok! So guys! Once Patty gets here with the suitcases we can all get changed and ready to go" she was currently trying to wipe all memory of Tsubaki's rage-mode from her mind. What Liz just saw was scarier then any ghost "isn't that just great?" definitely worse.

But before anyone could answer and follow her lead they all heard a sound and everyone turned to face the hallway the sound of someone laughing at the top of their lungs. They all knew what it was and the next moment they saw Patty turn the corner laughing loudly with the suitcases flailing violently in her arms behind her as she ran towards them.

She kept on laughing up to the point where she almost ran straight through everyone before noticing them and she then slammed her feet down into the floor, cartoon style, to stop herself, leaving a trail of smoke behind her. Much to everyone's relief she stopped a foot in front of them but her irritated expression reversed that feeling, Patty could be just as scary as Tsubaki had just been "heyyyy, how'd you get here before me sis?" she pouted looking at everyone.

"We took the elevators" Liz jerked her thumb quickly to the empty box behind them as it closed to go to another floor.

Patty dropped the suitcases and crossed her arms, pouting even more now "no fair."

Kid laughed and walked over to her "well look at it this way, you got up here by foot almost as quickly as we did taking an elevator" he put a hand on her shoulder and grinned "so you're technically faster then all of us."

That put a smile on Patty's face "hey yeah! You're right!" she pointed at the others laughing "you guys are slow pokes!" she laughed.

The others all chuckled along with her relief flooding their bodies before they grabbed their suitcases, split up with their roommates and entered their rooms. The moment Crona and Tsubaki entered theirs the boy couldn't help but have that awestruck expression again at the sheer magnitude of how great the room he stood in was. And not only did he see how nicely put together this room was with the kitchen table and lounge area but there were two other smaller rooms holding a bathroom and the bedroom Kid had talked about.

"So, I take it you like things so far?" Tsubaki glanced with a smile over at Crona who was still staring around with that dumbstruck look.

"Uh huh…" was all he could think to say.

She chuckled at him then turned "okay, well I'm going to go get changed now, so feel free to look around" that got a reaction as he tensed up, though she didn't notice because her back was already turned.

Crona glanced over at the bathroom door anxiously as it closed behind Tsubaki and then he flopped down on the couch in the living-room thinking about this weird situation he now found himself in. He still felt somewhat uncomfortable with the thought that he'd be sleeping with Tsubaki again, but at the same time he felt happy, Tsubaki _was_ his girlfriend after all, but he was still learning how to deal with something like that. He didn't really understand how this whole couple thing worked too, but at least he knew it made him feel good, and that's all he needed to know to know he could handle this, though that didn't mean it would be easy.

Changing in the same room as Tsubaki on the other hand was something he didn't know how to handle, but he _knew_ that it made him uncomfortable, _very _uncomfortable. Not that he found her uncomfortable or anything, no, it was because of his perverted partner constantly running his mouth every minute. Much like what he was doing now as he tried to make Crona do something incredibly wrong.

"Come on Crona, just walk in on her" Ragnarok tried for like the fifth time in a row now "for one thing we'll get to see some fine ass, and two, somebody needs to put that damn Tsubaki girl in her place."

The boy however just sighed to himself "you need to get over what happened in the elevator Ragnarok, you know you brought all of that on your-" said demon punched Crona in the head.

"Bullshit!" he snapped "I don't care what you say, that stupid cow nearly choked me to death-"

"Don't call her that" Crona looked up irritably.

"I'll call her whatever the hell I want!" Ragnarok snapped "that dumb bitch may be your girlfriend and all, but that doesn't mean I have to put up with her-"

"Ok that is enough!" Crona cut him off, staring at the demon angrily, stopping him dead "do _not_ _**ever**_ call her that again Ragnarok" he nearly growled before shaking his head "I am just so sick and tired of listening to you say stuff like that all the time about people close to me, my friends, so stop it already."

Ragnarok began shaking with anger "what the hell did you just-"

"No Ragnarok, just be quiet and listen to me" Crona jabbed his finger into Ragnarok's face again freezing him "I understand that you're angry about what happened in the elevator, but you deserved every bit of it, and you know it."

"But-"

"No, just- just listen to me ok? Please? Just for once in our life, will you shut up and let me talk?" Ragnarok stared down at his partner with his version of shock. In all the time he'd been inside of him, Crona had never snapped at him like this, _ever_ "please? Just this once?"

Ragnarok was quiet for about a minute but then shook himself out of it, crossing his arms and looking to the side "… fine… fine whatever; just make it quick alright?" Crona felt a jolt of his own surprise when he looked up at his partner which Ragnarok then noticed "well?"

Crona tried his best to recover from the surprise then took a deep breath. He couldn't believe that worked, he had expected to get punched in the face at any moment for yelling like that "ok then… w-well, um Ragnarok… for one thing, it doesn't matter who it is you're talking to; you always say or do something to get on their nerves. Why is that exactly?"

Ragnarok shrugged "it's just fun messing with people, especially since I know they can't do anything to me" he chuckled a little bit.

Crona sighed "oh… ok" he rubbed the back of his head uncomfortably "do you… think can you at least _try_ to stop being so rude to everyone all the time?" Ragnarok raised an 'eyebrow' and the boy looked down quickly. Apparently whatever had gotten into Crona had worked its way out of his system and he had returned to his usual self "I-I know I can't stop you from doing it or anything, b-but can you try letting up? J-just a little bit? Please?"

"Why exactly are you asking me to do this now? I mean, it's not like this is something new; I've been doing it pretty much the day I was put into you."

Crona stared at the carpet below him and rolled his thumbs around each other "I know; I-it's just… well I… I-I really like Tsubaki is all and…" he trailed off, too nervous, and embarrassed to continue.

Ragnarok groaned understanding instantly "and you're worried that I'll do something to mess things up with her, don't you?" Crona nodded cautiously. The demon looked down at him for what seemed like a long time but then finally, he sagged with a sigh "you really are a piece o' work, getting this worked up over something as stupid as some girl" Crona's face fell getting ready for him to say no but then the demon sighed again "… alright… alright screw it, I'll… try to tone it down a notch" Crona looked up at him with surprise and Ragnarok growled "what?! You think I want to listen to you bitching all the time about me messing with people?" he poked Crona's forehead, but the boy didn't care. To say that the boy felt relieved would be an understatement as he breathed out, he can't believe that worked! "so, is there anything else you want to bring up?"

Crona's breath hitched and he smiled shakily as his eyes darted around, maybe… "well, um… do you, uh… d-do you think you could stop messing with me all the time-" Ragnarok began pushing on Crona's nose, cutting him off.

"Don't push your luck kid" Ragnarok gave him one last shove to the nose then slid back into Crona who sighed, rubbing his now sore, pink nose.

_"Oh well, I guess one out of two isn't that bad"_ he thought just as the door to the bathroom opened up, drawing his attention and his eyes immediately widened upon seeing Tsubaki "… wow" was all he could think to say.

She still had her hair hanging down her back in her usual ponytail but now she had a straw hat on her head along with a white bikini top with a camellia blossom design on in along with a matching long, thin cover-up skirt going from her bellybutton down to her ankles, just above her sandals.

Tsubaki smiled and then spun in a 360 showing him everything "well? How do I look?"

Crona was instantly reduced to a babbling mess, shifting his gaze around the room as he tried to form a sentence "oh, um, well you-uhh-y-you-I-I-I mean-y-you look…" he shook his head and tried to calm himself as much as he could "y-you look good?" he tried glancing at her cautiously.

Tsubaki giggled at his struggle "thank you" she walked over and sat down on the bed next to him "well go ahead Crona, go get changed, you don't want to make the others wait do you?"

"N-no! I-I don't want to do that" Crona grabbed his trunks and walked towards the bathroom quickly, leaving Tsubaki snickering to herself as silently as she could before bursting out laughing after the door closed.

"Oh my god, he is just so adorable" she sighed happily, shaking her head.

And so after Crona changed into his trunks and a white jacket, something which confused Tsubaki somewhat, he followed her out and grouped back up with the others and the moment he saw them Crona looked down and repressed a new blush at the sight of the girls. The boys were all in trunks, Soul a pair of red and black camo, Black Star a solid deep blue, and Kid a black and white checkerboard design, but the girls were what had Crona so uncomfortable. Liz and Patty were in matching solid white bikinis, Blair was in her… earlier attire and Maka was in a black bikini with frilly edges.

Thankfully no one noticed his reaction to their clothing and the nine of them took the elevators down without incident, and thankfully this time there were two available so they didn't have to cram themselves against each other… though it's not like that stopped them any. Once the doors had opened up and they had exited the building onto the sun-toasted sand they kicked their sandals off picked cubbies to put them in and then they walked down towards the beach.

It was only when they were ten feet from the water that Crona noticed something important was missing "um, guys? W-where's all of the stuff? T-the chairs, and towels I mean?" he asked looking around the others and their empty hands with confusion.

Maka though merely chuckled then gestured to Blair "one advantage of having a magical cat like Blair here for a friend~" the cat snapped her fingers and after a brief poof of smoke a few open umbrellas fell down poking into the sand followed by chairs which landed under the shade, along with towels, some folding over the backs of the chairs, and then a few bags, all within a few seconds "~it takes care of all that extra baggage we'd normally have to worry about."

"And one more thing about these is that it's all magic" Blair pointed to the towels with a smile "like the towels, Blair made it so sand falls right off of them" she laughed as Maka walked over to one of the bags and pulled out a couple white tubes.

"Ok guys! Get your sun-block on so we can get in the water, I wanna have some fun already!" she tossed the tubes over to Kid, Soul, Blair and Tsubaki.

Soon after catching the tubes they put them down onto the sand and everyone began taking off their outer layer of clothing so only their swimsuits remained, everyone save one shy demon-swordsman. Crona looked around at the others with a bit of confusion but then walked over to the umbrellas and busied himself by looking at what was in the bags. He didn't find anything that was out of the ordinary but then something suddenly tapped his shoulder startling him "hey Crona?" he looked up to see Tsubaki in nothing but her bikini top and bottom, which immediately dusted his cheeks a light pink "could you help me for a second?"

"Oh, uhh, s-sure. W-what do you need?" he got up and frowned when she handed him one of those white tubes.

"Could you get my back?"

"W-what?" his frown deepened as she lied down on one of the towels.

"I just need you to put some sunscreen on my back" Crona tensed as she unclipped the back of her top, the strings falling to the towel below her.

"W-what?" he began shaking as he looked down at Tsubaki's bare back "oh, I-I don't know. I-I don't think I can handle doing something like that-"

Tsubaki just smiled into her arms and laughed a little "don't worry Crona, its fine. Just put the sunscreen on your hands and rub it from my shoulders down to here" she stopped right above her bikini-bottom.

That didn't help at all "you… y-you're sure?" he shifted back a bit "y-you're sure you want _me_ to do it?"

"Why not you?" Tsubaki lifted herself up on her elbows and looked back at him "you're a sweet boy who'd never take advantage of anyone, and above that, you _are_ my boyfriend" she smiled when her words made the sides of his mouth curve up a fraction "I trust you Crona, so go ahead" she put her head back down on her arms.

Crona looked around a little more and saw that the others were doing the same thing with their boy/girlfriends with no trouble at all and finally he took a calming breath and got down on his knees next to Tsubaki. He did as she said and put the sunscreen on but when he reached down with shaky hands they stopped, hovering just above her skin. He went no further but his hands kept shaking so much until he froze when Tsubaki shivered when a drop of the oil dripped down onto her back.

She took a breath and turned an eye to him while smiling back at him "you're fine Crona, just go ahead; I don't want the others to get to have fun before us."

He was shaking a little less now that he saw he hadn't done anything wrong "o-ok…" he took a breath "s-sorry about making you wait" he slowly put his hands on her back.

She smiled again and rested her head back on her arms "don't apologize Crona, you're just nervous is all, I understand. You've never done something like this before, so you're worried you'll do something wrong, but you're doing fine."

Crona smiled at how kind and understanding she was being "thanks Tsubaki" he shifted around on the sand then began rubbing the oil in carefully like she had told him to. About a minute later as he thought more about how kind she was today he got to thinking about something, something that had nagged at him at the back of his mind for quite some time now "hey… Tsubaki?"

"Hmm?" she hummed from down on the towel.

"T-that night… after the first party when it was raining… w-why did you come out after me?" he asked.

Tsubaki frowned into her arms "what do you mean? I was worried about you that's why."

"But why?" he asked again, the confusion evident "I-it's not like anything bad would happen to me, so why waste your time looking-"

"Waste my time?" Tsubaki looked back at him with confusion "Crona, you aren't a waste of anything. I cared about what would happen you, that's why I came out to help you, I didn't want anything bad happening."

Crona finished rubbing in the oil and he looked away as Tsubaki re-clipped her top back on "b-but like I said, nothing bad _did_ happen, a-and even if you hadn't come along, the worst I would have gotten was a little cold" he looked down sadly "I just don't see why anyone would go so far to help me."

Tsubaki was silent for a while before she sighed as she reached out and put her hand on his forehead "Crona, what have I told you?" she smiled as she gently ran her hand through his hair "you are a wonderful person, with wonderful friends who care about you very much, and no matter how down you're feeling, that's never going to change" she moved her hand down to his chin and lifted his face up "now, stop talking about all this negative stuff and take your jacket off, I still need to take care of you."

Crona tensed again and looked back down forgetting all about his negative train of thought for a moment "o-oh, y-you don't have to do that-"

"But I want to" she breathed out a chuckle, shaking her head with a smile "like I've said so many times before" he still looked really uncomfortable however which she soon noticed. She frowned at the anxiety she saw "is something wrong?"

"Well… it's… I-it's just that I…" he rubbed a part of his leg without even thinking about it and when Tsubaki looked closely she saw a faint, almost unnoticeable scar beneath his hand.

She understood his discomfort immediately and smiled softly "Crona, you don't have to be embarrassed about your body" he looked up, surprised at how quickly she got it "you don't have to worry about something like that, we all have scars. See?" she turned a fraction and showed Crona a faint scar on the back of her shoulder before she straightened up with a sigh "look… I know that you may have a lot more then the rest of us" she dragged a finger over the scar on the boy's leg "and most of them should never have happened in the first place" she looked down at the faint mark sadly "but that's nothing to be embarrassed about, no one is going to make fun of you for something like that."

Crona rubbed his arm up and down "I know" he nodded a little with a sigh of his own "I know, it's just… I-it's just hard" he looked down at the small scar with equal sadness "t-these scars are why I'm so scared of wearing things like this, because I don't want to see them" his hand slowly curled into a fist and trembled "s-so I'm not reminded of… o-of what _she_ did to me."

Tsubaki nodded "it's ok Crona; I understand" she made sure to let him see her as she reached out and put her hand over his "you were put through terrible things as a kid" she smiled as his hand steadily relaxed "but now all of that's over, you'll never have to go through any of that again" she curled her fingers around his hand "and you don't have to be afraid anymore, you don't have to be afraid of being judged, because no one here is going to think badly of you" her smile grew and she chuckled a little "at least not without me siccing Black Star on them first."

Crona laughed with her quietly "… thanks Tsubaki" he smiled at her and she smiled right back "you always seem to know just what to say."

"Of course, that's why I'm here" she gave his hand a friendly squeeze.

And so the two sat there, smiling at each other, completely oblivious to the blue-topped form that had appeared, kneeling down next to them halfway through their conversation. Oblivious that is until said blue-topped boy opened his mouth "so are you two gonna kiss or what?" they both jumped at the sound of Black Star's voice and Crona repressed a yelp "if you are then get on with it, cause this is getting kind of bor-" he couldn't finish that thought because of the book slamming him face-first into the sand.

The owner of said book sighed as she put her book down on one of the towels nearby "you just had to go and ruin the moment didn't you Black Star?" Maka stared down at the boy with a withering stare.

"Seriously man, not cool" Soul chuckled from down on another towel on Crona and Tsubaki's other side.

They both looked around to see the others were all around them on the towels and chairs, trying to hold back laughs as they looked at the two who were slowly lighting up fire red "h-how long have you guys been there?" Tsubaki asked feeling really embarrassed now.

"'You are a wonderful person Crona' that's when Blair got here" Blair said getting between them to bring them into a big hug "Maka and the loud boy were already here before me though" she laughed as Crona's and Tsubaki's blushes deepened "ohhh, you two were so unbelievably _cute_! It was like something out of a little romance story" she gave them both a squeeze.

"Now if only they'd hurry up with the smoochy-faces" Liz grinned as Patty laughed.

She laughed and clapped her hands "Crona and Tsubaki sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"S-shut up" Tsubaki looked around as the others laughed, feeling beyond embarrassed _"is this how Crona feels all the time?"_ she thought looking at said demon-swordsman who seemed to be taking this worse then she was. She then banished the thought and shook her head "don't you guys have a beach to enjoy?" she pouted as Blair backed up.

Kid chuckled at that "why would we waste time walking to the water when we have such an entertaining display right here?"

Tsubaki did her best to scowl, but her red features ruined it "just go! We'll be down in a minute!" the others all laughed at her for a few seconds but then jumped to their feet and left, snickering when Tsubaki pulled out a throwing star from some location on her mostly bare person. She watched them as they left and sighed when they were far enough "I am so, _so_ sorry about that Crona" she looked back towards him with the best smile she could muster.

He smiled back shakily "no, it's alright, t-they were only having fun, I can deal with that" he gripped his arm at first, but then ever so slowly let go and reached for the zipper of his jacket "um… T-Tsubaki?"

She noticed him reaching for his zipper and her smile grew as he unzipped his jacket "hmm?"

He pulled the jacket off and managed to push back every part of him screaming that he was exposed and that he should cover up "could… c-c-could you get my back for me?"

She paused before answering him, not because she was unsure, there was no reason to hesitate for something like this, no it was because she found herself looking Crona over. Overall he was somewhat skinny, he was probably much worse off before the DWMA began taking care of him, but not sick, bone-showing skinny, just… thin. The next thing she noticed was that except for the top of his head, he had no hair on his body; there was nothing but smooth skin. She then snapped herself out of it and nodded with a smile, holding back a blush at the sudden thought of Crona being attractive which wormed its way into her mind, and after he got down on his belly she smacked her cheeks and shook herself then began rubbing in the oil on his back.

She noticed that he didn't feel like he had any noticeable muscles except in his arms, but his body had a worked, toned feel to it, without any doubt gained from his near lifetime of wielding Ragnarok. After going over most of his back she looked at his skin more closely and the first thing that she noticed about it was some of the scars. There wasn't anything that looked really bad and as she had just seen the only way to _see_ the scars was to look very closely, and what she found was just a few faded cuts here, a couple faint burn marks there, but then she saw what looked like the remnants of a very painful looking bite wound on his upper right shoulder.

"Hey Crona?" he hummed in response "what happened here?" she touched the spot on his shoulder briefly then went back to the rest of him, not wanting to overstep any boundaries. She was just glad she was able to get him relaxed enough to pull off that jacket; she didn't want him to turtle up again.

Crona looked at the spot she was referring to and he sighed "oh… that" he again, unconsciously squeezed his arm "do you… do you remember that dragon picture you and the others saw me drawing that one day in class? T-the little black dragon one you guys asked about… t-the one _she_ made me kill back when I was younger?" Tsubaki nodded "well… like I said, I-it was the little one" her eyes widened.

"You mean there was more then one of those things?" Tsubaki was surprised.

Crona nodded "I-I don't know where she got them from, b-but that tiny one was my first test. A-and so after I went out and… k-killed a few dozen people-" his voice was full of guilt and regret which sent an ache through Tsubaki's heart "-s-she put me up against a bigger one, a-and that's how I got that" he was referring to the scar on his shoulder "I-I didn't even hesitate on trying to kill it like the little one too, that's the worst part about it" he shook his head "I-I just couldn't do it, I wasn't strong enough to" he took a shaky breath "a-and so Medusa punished me for that failure. S-she said, and did things that made that scar ache so badly until it got to the point where I had to almost crush my arm just to ignore everything else."

"Oh" Tsubaki winced trying to think of how much pain he had to go through back then "Crona I… I am so sorry if I brought up any bad memories by asking-"

Crona snapped out of it and shook his head quickly, not wanting her to feel bad "n-no! No, y-you were just curious is all, you didn't know."

"… Does it still hurt?" after considering the answer he could give he nodded at the question.

"I don't understand why, but whenever I feel uncomfortable, or scared it starts stinging again, sometimes a little bit, sometimes really bad."

Tsubaki's hands froze and her face flooded with guilt "wait, so all those times I did things that made you uncomfortable I was hurting you?"

He tensed and shook his head even more "no! No Tsubaki you don't understand, you weren't hurting me at all" he scratched his head trying to think of a better way to explain things "it's just- it's kind of like… w-w-well you know how when you get pinched, I-it stings for a while, but it eventually goes away?" Tsubaki nodded, somewhat confused "w-well it's kind of like that, I-it doesn't actually hurt, it just stings for about a minute then fades away."

"You're sure I haven't hurt you?" she finished with the oil and he picked himself back up "you're absolutely sure?"

Crona nodded then smiled shakily "I'm sure. You're one of the few people who're nice to me after all, one of the ones who really cares about what I think" he shook his head "I don't think you could ever hurt me on purpose."

She breathed out upon hearing that "that's a relief" she glanced him over one last time to make sure he was feeling too bad then got up and held her hand out "ok then Crona, come on, let's go to the water, the others will be waiting."

He hesitated before taking her hand "s-sure, l-let's go" she helped him up and they walked towards the water, and halfway there Crona noticed Tsubaki hadn't let go of his hand "umm, T-Tsubaki? Y-you're still holding my hand."

She smiled "I know that."

Crona frowned but before he could ask why she was still doing it the others saw them coming "hey there! It's about time you two showed up!" Liz called with a wave "we were starting to think you two were never gonna get down here."

"Sorry, t-that would be my fault" Crona raised his hand sheepishly as Liz's hand slowly fell and he soon noticed everyone's awestruck faces "w-what?" he felt a jolt of anxiety "I-I-is there something on me?" he looked around his body quickly, trying to find the source of their expressions.

Maka stared at Crona like she didn't even know him "no, no, nothing's on you, it's just-"

"Crona, you look hot!" Patty blurted out sounding surprised.

Crona frowned at her "hot? But I feel fine?"

Ragnarok sighed from within the boy _"she's saying you're attractive, dumbass."_

"Oh, umm, I… well uh… t-thank you?" he still wasn't used to hearing those kind of compliments.

"Seriously dude, you look great" Soul nodded crossing his arms "huh, I was expecting you to be stick thin, but you actually look pretty good."

"Thanks I… guess?" and now guys were saying the same thing about him? He had no idea how to deal with so many people saying things like that about him.

"You know, I have to say, I think I'm kind of jealous of Tsubaki, getting a body like that all to herself" Liz laughed jokingly as said girl walked into the water, shivering at first at the sudden cold but quickly getting used to it.

It was only a little after she got in fully that she noticed Crona still standing up on the sand "something wrong Crona?" she drifted closer to the shore.

"Well, you see… it's… I-it's complicated" he gripped his arm.

Tsubaki thought about it for a little and then thought she had it "can you not swim?"

He shook his head with a bitter smile "no, no I can swim, I… I-I-I just have some bad history with water" he stepped forward into the water and shivered a little bit, then slowly walked in all the way, though everyone could tell by the pale, sick look on his face that it took a lot of discomfort as he reached where they were.

"What do you mean?" Maka asked with a frown "how come you don't like the water?

"Yes, I thought you said you've never even been to a pool before" Kid frowned.

"Back when I was little… _Medusa_ took me out to a river to teach me how to swim" it seemed even saying that witch's name was difficult for him "but I had to learn it on my own when we got there."

Black Star floated towards him on his back "what? What'd she do?"

"She would throw me into the rushing water to fend for myself" everyone was shocked and sickened by that at the same time "a-and whenever I went under and… a-and started drowning, s-she would take her time fishing me out with one of her arrows to the point where my lungs were burning and I passed out" they could see him shaking in the water, sending little ripples out which were swallowed up by the small waves "a-and it was like that for over three weeks, n-nearly drowning every day and going to bed with nothing but a stale slice of bread until I finally got it right."

The others all looked at him sadly, yet another traumatic experience added to the list of things they knew about him. It was really starting to scare them that out of everything they knew about him, the things that ruined his life made up most of their knowledge. Everyone stood and floated in the water, sulking now because of Crona's story, but then a second later he got hit in the head by a beach-ball which bounced right back to the thrower "cut it out with the sad stories sword-boy, you're bumming me out" Blair smiled as Crona rubbed his head.

"What was that for-" she threw the ball again and this time Crona fell back into the water, and he shot back up spitting water out of his mouth "hey! Stop doing that! This water tastes weird and salty and I don't know how to deal with salty water!" he whined getting everyone to giggle and laugh, quickly forgetting about the sadness.

"Blair's right man, you need to get over all of that crap you went through before" Soul swam over and gave him a friendly jab to the shoulder "hanging on the past aint cool."

"I know, but it's hard getting over something like-" Blair hit him in the head with the ball again "Blair! Cut it out!"

"Then stop feeling bad and play with us" she laughed.

"But it's not that easy-" the ball hit him in the head "hey, come on stop-" hit him in the head "if you'd just let me-" hit him in the head "Blair, please-" hit him in the head "ok, ok! I'll stop!" the others were all trying to hold back their laughs but that last one just broke them as they burst out laughing, gripping their sides "come on guys, that isn't funny" he pouted in their direction.

"Oh come on Crona, you know she's right" Tsubaki laughed patting him on the back "you do need to get over what happened to you in the past, and I know it'll be hard, but that's why you have us" he gestured to the others "we're here for you whenever you need us."

Crona was silent and brooding but he eventually sighed in defeat and nodded with a smile, but right as he was about to say something the ball hit him in the head, again knocking him into the water. When he came back up and spit the water out he was actually fuming "why did you do it that time?" he nearly yelled making everyone laugh again.

Blair shrugged with a mischievous grin "I just felt like it" she laughed.

Crona pouted, dipping the bottom half of his face into the water as the others laughed at him, and they were completely oblivious to him as he noticed the beach-ball floating next to him _"let's get her Crona"_ Ragnarok said within him and Crona nodded grabbing the ball with a smile of his own.

Blair kept on laughing and didn't even see the ball zooming towards her until it was too late as it hit her dead in the face, knocking her back. After her head popped back up out of the water she and the others all looked at Crona with shock "payback right?" he asked smiling innocently.

…

A couple of hours later, everyone had had their fill of the water and while Crona was somewhat disappointed that he didn't see any dolphins it didn't keep him from putting on a new coat of sunblock and following the group up onto the sand to partake in other various activities. Maka was currently lying down reading a book in the sun along with Liz, Blair and Tsubaki who were reading magazines as they worked on their tans, while Soul and Black Star were nowhere to be found and Patty and Crona were building a large sandcastle, with Kid supervising them of course.

"… And now we just need to finish this last part" Kid picked up the last bucket full of sand. He walked over to the front of the seven foot tall scale model of the DWMA and put the sand on the center of the middle skull which marked the entrance, carefully making sure the sand didn't brake off anywhere and ruin the image "… ok… Crona, you're up" Crona nodded and then Ragnarok formed in his hand "you know to be careful right?" Kid asked, chewing on his nails and sweating nervously.

"Kid, don't worry, I'll be careful" Crona actually rolled his eyes, Kid may be his friend but that OCD of his could get on anyone's nerves. He shook his head and then bent in and scraped at the edges of the sand Kid added with Ragnarok's blade, delicately forming the pointed cone and then he scooped out the eye holes of the skull it was connected to.

He continued like this for a few minutes, carefully sculpting the last part of the model and then he clapped his hands together, knocking off the leftover sand clinging to him as Kid sighed in relief and then walked up to the sculpture admiring it "absolutely beautiful" he pretty much drank in the sight of the model Crona and Patty spent about over half an hour building "such glorious symmetry!" he threw his arms out with joy as his eyes sparkled "oh I _must_ record evidence of this wondrous spectacle!" he pulled out a camera from a nearby bag and began lining up the first of his many 'perfect' shots.

Crona and Patty both laughed as Kid practically drooled over that model, snapping off photo after photo, then went over to the cooler to get a drink "h-he really does love symmetry doesn't he?" Crona asked pulling out a water.

"Yeah, he's goofy" Patty giggled pulling out a soda "but I love him!" she then chugged the soda in one go.

Crona was about to take a sip from the cool, refreshing water when the calm was suddenly shattered "yo Crona! Heads up!" he turned just in time to see the ball and he ducked with a yelp, the ball scraping the tip of his hair.

Crona saw how the ball hit the sand and stayed there and that told him that it had some weight to it which just added to his anxiety "why is everyone throwing balls at me today! I don't know how to deal with taking balls to the face!" _**(: 3 )**_

"Sorry about that dude" Soul chuckled walking over and helping Crona up "Black Star and I were getting a volleyball but then he dropped it while he was running and ended up kicking it."

Crona's terrified anger quickly evaporated into confusion "volley… ball?" he frowned at the new word.

Soul sighed _"oh that's just great, another thing he doesn't know about"_ he picked up the ball and held it under his arm "you see that square over there? The one with the net in the middle?" Crona followed Soul's finger and nodded seeing it "well basically what you gotta do is take this ball here-" he tossed the ball up and caught it a few times "-keep it off of your box and make sure it lands on the other team's box, but you can't hold onto the ball."

"Then how do you keep it off of your box?" Crona was even more confused now.

"You hit it into the air, like this" he tossed the ball up again, made a fist and hit it back up "you can use any part of your body to hit it up, you just can't hold onto it."

"It's really fun if you know how to play" Patty caught the ball out of the air "do you wanna play Crona?"

"Play what?" Blair popped up out of nowhere next to Crona nearly scaring him half to death.

Patty handed the ball over to Soul who then tossed it up and caught it again "volleyball" Blair pouted.

"Oh, Blair doesn't like games like that, too much work" she turned to the others "how about you guys? Do any of you want to play volleyball with Crona?"

The others thought about it and shrugged "sure, why not" Maka closed her book and got up along with the rest of the group.

"W-wait a minute, I-I never said that I wanted to play" Crona looked at the ball, which nearly took his head off, nervously "t-this game sounds hard."

Soul shrugged "not really, it's actually pretty easy."

"B-but I've never even played it before-"

"No time like the present right?" Soul chuckled getting behind him and pushing him towards the court "alright, Crona, you'll be a captain, I'll be the other captain."

"What does that even mean?" Crona looked back at Soul as he pushed him forward.

"It means you pick who you want on your team" Maka crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow towards her partner "what's your game Soul?" Crona noticed that she didn't try helping him get out of the game he was being forced to play. The reason was that she thought this would be good for him.

"The game's volleyball Maka, what are you talking about?" Soul grinned then gestured towards Crona "I'll let you have first pick."

Crona looked around at everyone and sighed, it was obvious that he wasn't getting out of this "… so I pick who I want on my team?" the others nodded "ok then… well, uhh…" he looked around at the others "Tsubaki?" she was fast right?

Soul grinned, this was gonna be too easy "Black Star."

Crona scratched his head "Patty?" she was strong.

"Liz."

Crona looked between Maka and Kid and didn't have to think it over all that much "Kid?"

Soul was a little surprised by that as Maka took her place on his team "uhh… hey, how come you didn't choose Maka last?" he had expected him to pick the people he liked a lot to be on his team.

Crona gripped his arm and looked down "oh, umm, well, it's just that… M-Maka's kind of…" he looked up at her apologetically "no offense Maka, really, b-but you kind of… stink at sports" he winced expecting to get mad.

Maka however just smiled and waved it away while the others recovered from yet another shock, did Crona just basically insult Maka? Who was this boy and what had he done with Crona they all knew? "It's alright Crona, I know I suck at these games, but hey, what are you gonna do right?" she took her place in one of the four corners of Soul's square "so are we gonna do this or what?"

"Yeah! You guys are going down!" Patty laughed confidently towards Soul's team, dragging Kid to Crona's side of the court.

"Just to be clear with everyone, we'll be playing first team to eight" Kid had his arms crossed and had an entirely serious face as Patty dragged him.

"Sounds fine to me" Soul shrugged then he turned to Crona "here you go Crona, you can serve" he tossed the ball over the net.

Crona stumbled a few times trying to catch it, the ball rolling off the tips of his fingers, but finally he caught it and held it against his chest tightly "w-what exactly do I do with this? A-and what's serving in this game?"

Soul rolled his eyes and stifled a groan. He had to remember, it's not Crona's fault he doesn't know… well anything "toss it up and hit it over the net" he made a motion with his hands demonstrating.

"Um, ok then" he looked down at the ball and then took a breath "well, I guess I'll give this a try" he mumbled then tossed the ball up and hit it.

The ball went up but then hit the top of the net and rolled back onto Crona's side earning a disappointed pout from him "try it again, but a little harder" Soul chuckled.

Crona picked up the ball and tossed it up and hit it again, and this time it went over the net, where it was immediately hit back down by Black Star with enough force to send out a gust of wind. Just when Crona thought the ball would hit his side, marking Soul's first point however, Patty dove down onto her belly and blocked it, sending it back up over to Soul's side.

She picked herself up quickly and everyone saw that she had her serious face on as the ball was hit back over the net "I said you guys were going down!" she yelled jumping up and slamming the ball down like Black Star had.

…

About twenty minutes later the two teams were neck and neck at seven points and each member of the teams were panting from all the work they had put in. The ball flew over the net again and again as the two teams tried to get the last point, but it seemed that they were evenly matched.

This equality was ruined though when the ball slipped off the tips of Kid's fingers "crap-crap-_crap_-_**crap!**_" he threw his knee up at the last second and managed to bounce the ball up, but unfortunately Black Star was in the air waiting for it.

He laughed, slamming it down hard but then he stopped halfway when Tsubaki appeared under it "Crona, coming to you!" she hit the ball sending it backwards at an odd angle where Crona was bouncing on his feet trying to find the right place to stand in order to reach it.

"I got it, I got it, I got-" _Bonk!_ The ball caught him on his forehead during one of his hops and by some miracle bounced over the net. To everyone's shock the ball flew over Soul's team and landed in exact corner of their side out of their reach as Crona fell back into the sand. Everyone's jaws dropped as they stared at the ball which stuck into the sand inside of Soul's square "owww" Crona groaned, rubbing his now bruised forehead right as his team recovered and cheered, jumping around.

Tsubaki laughed and walked over to him "you ok Crona?" she lightly brushed her fingertips over the bruise.

"Yeah, y-yeah I'm ok; I-it's just a bruise."

Tsubaki smiled "that's good; it wouldn't be fun winning the game if you got a sprain or something because of it."

"Yeah, and nice one Crona! Way to use your head!" Patty laughed, ran over and clapped him on the back.

"Oh, uh, t-thank you, b-but I didn't really even do anything, t-that was all a convenient accident-"

"So what? We won didn't we?" Kid walked over, looking somewhat embarrassed for nearly losing the game.

Crona smiled at his happy team as Soul came over "well Crona, nice job, you guy's beat us" he grinned seeing the mark on his head, making a playful wince "oooh, that looks painful."

Crona shook his head "no, no it's fine, I-I can deal with something like a little bump, it'll be gone in an hour anyway."

"What a trooper" Tsubaki smiled before planting a little kiss on his bruise.

Crona twitched back with surprise "w-w-what was that for?"

Tsubaki smiled "think of it as a reward for winning the game with that head of yours."

"Yeah, you've got some real skill Crona" Soul chuckled while Crona rubbed his forehead looking down with a small smile "you know, part of me knew you guys were gonna win actually" he looked up with a frown "I mean you saw how most of the points we got on you were luck" Soul grinned again as Crona's frown deepened _"alright, now let's try to reel him in."_

"Oh, really? I-I thought we were pretty close in that game."

Soul shrugged "maybe, maybe not. Though we were a little close, I'll give you that, but look at it this way, you're new to this and you beat us."

Crona rubbed his arm with another embarrassed smile "well, m-maybe… I guess so."

Soul managed to keep himself from smiling. He had him "hey, what do you say we go for another round, but make it four points this time."

"Oh, uh, well ok" he looked at his teammates "I-I'm fine with that if everyone else is" they all shrugged and nodded; they felt like they could go again.

"I wasn't finished though" Crona frowned at Soul once again "how about we make this round a little interesting?"

"Interesting?" Crona shifted around uncomfortably, he didn't like the sound of that.

"Yeah, just a friendly little bet between captains" Soul smiled as innocently as he could.

"Uh, ok… I guess that's fine, b-but what's the bet?"

"Whichever team loses, their captain has to do whatever the members of the opposite team say for the rest of the day."

That just made Crona feel worse about this "I don't know, I-I don't think I could deal with a situation like that."

Soul sighed and nodded _"oh well, it's not like I can force him."_

But then Kid stepped up "uh hey Crona, mind if I talk to you for a second?" he pulled Crona with him to about a foot away from the others "come on Crona, I think you should take the bet."

Crona shook his head "no, I don't think this is a good idea."

Kid sighed and looked around "well look at it like this Crona, if it weren't for that lucky miss of mine we probably would've won this a lot quicker" he whispered "and besides, Soul's done so much to mess with me by destroying the symmetry I try so hard to preserve, I want to get back at him for that."

"But still, I don't think we should go through with this, I-I mean what if we lose? I don't think I want to know how to deal with doing whatever Liz wanted."

"Oh come on, we can beat them" Kid urged him "we won this one didn't we?"

"Well, yes but…" he looked over to the ball that was now pinning on Soul's finger "do you think we really have a chance?"

"Crona, we had three points before they even got to two, it'll be easy to beat them if all we have to do is get to four" he chuckled "trust me, we have more then just a chance."

Crona thought about it for a little then sighed and walked back to the group with Kid "well…" he took a deep breath, not believing he was saying this "alright… I guess we're in."

"Cool" Soul gestured to the court "oh yeah, and just a quick little thing, no backsies" he grinned as Crona tried to comprehend what he just got himself into "shall we?" and so the teams split back up onto their sides. When everyone was in their positions Soul began tossing the ball up and down with a huge grin "hey Crona, you ever heard of something called getting played?"

Crona frowned "y-yeah, w-why do you ask?"

Sol tossed the ball up and smacked it up over the net "oh no reason" he shrugged as Crona leaned in and hit the ball back up "just asking is all" he laughed as Black Star smashed the ball down scraping the edge of Crona's nose and into the sand a centimeter from his feet "you ok there buddy?" Soul was trying to hold back laughs at Crona's terrified face.

"No. N-n-no, I think I just lost a bet" his voice shook as Kid picked up the ball and hit it over the net.

"Well at least you're honest" Soul jumped up and hit the ball, knocking it to the corner of Crona's square, marking his team's second point in the course of a few minutes.

…

Fifteen minutes later and Crona was lying on his back panting along with the rest of his beaten team as Soul's high-fived and laughed with each other "hey there Crona, you alright down there?" Soul chuckled, crouching down next to him.

"You… you tricked me" he panted.

Soul laughed and reached down to help him up "yeah, yeah I did" he pulled Crona up and patted his back "but you can't blame yourself for it, I had a man on the inside helping out" he chuckled toward Kid.

"Kid? You helped him?" Crona was confused.

Kid shrugged "you mixed things up a little when you picked me instead of Maka, and you made it a little difficult when you first refused to play, but I made it work in the end."

"But… but what could be… could be so important that you took all this time and effort to put… to put all of this together?" Crona panted with a frown as Liz and Patty came over, side by side with their hands behind their backs.

Liz laughed "well Crona, we've all been really curious about something" the sisters took a step to opposite sides and held out a small pink bikini in front of them "we've all wondered what you'd look like in a bikini, so put this on."

Crona was silent as he tried to understand what she just said until he finally spoke "huh?"

"Put. This. On" Liz and Patty laughed.

"You… y-you want me to wear… _that_?" Crona began shaking "I, I-I-I can't wear that! I-I don't know how to deal with cross-dressing! E-especially not in something like that! I-it's so small and revealing!"

Soul shrugged as Maka and Tsubaki both blanched "a deal's a deal dude."

"You mean all of you were in on this?" Maka looked between the others teens who laughed as Liz handed the bikini to Crona who was getting paler by the second.

"How could you guys take advantage of Crona like this?" Tsubaki crossed her arms with disappointment.

"Aw, come on you two, don't be like that" Black Star laughed "you can't tell your all-knowing god you aren't a little bit curious about what he'd look like in that suit" Maka and Tsubaki both blushed and shifted around with embarrassment when the image of Crona in that tiny bikini wormed its way into their mind, earning a bigger grin from the boy "that's what I thought, and besides, a bet's a bet, so it's not like you can do anything about it" he walked over to Crona and began pushing him towards the beach's changing rooms "so come on Crona, you know you have to put that on, so it's best just to get it over with" he gave him a good shove towards one of the booths.

Crona stumbled a few steps and caught himself on the door of the booth then looked back at the others who, save Maka and Tsubaki, were all grinning "you guys stink" he pouted while Liz made a 'shooing' motion.

He walked into the booth and after locking the door he held up the two pieces of… 'clothing', if you could call it that, and he soon began trembling. He was supposed to wear something like _this_? How was he supposed to handle wearing something like this?

He couldn't! It was as cut and dry as that! People already said enough things about him as it was, it's not like he needed people calling him a cross-dresser too! He couldn't handle anymore jabs from people. Not to mention what the others would think about him, sure they were the ones who made him wear this in the first place, but you never know, they may start talking about him too after seeing him in this.

He kept staring at the bikini, nearly shaking out of his skin before he heard Liz yell "come on Crona! We'd like to see you before the end of the day!"

Crona puffed out his cheeks and pouted before groaning loudly. He did _not_ want to do this! Not one bit! But he knew that he had to so he reluctantly slipped out of his trunks and put the bikini on. After he got everything tied so it wouldn't fall off he looked at himself in the mirror and his face lit up redder than a fire-hydrant. Oh god, this felt _so_ _**wrong**_!

He opened the door, winced at the cold breeze which blew into the small booth, then stepped out onto the sand. Everyone else was busy talking with each other about what they made Crona do, but they all froze in the middle of their conversations when they caught sight of Crona.

Liz's jaw dropped "oh… my… god" that pretty much summed up everyone's thoughts as Crona stood in front of them, ram-rod straight with his hands laced in front of him.

If they didn't know better, each and every one of them would have thought Crona was a girl. The bikini fit him perfectly and as Tsubaki saw earlier, his utter lack of body-hair helped sell the feminine image even more.

"Dude… you… just wow" Soul scratched the back of his head with a faint blush along with the others guys. They'd hate to admit it, and they never would if someone asked, but Crona looked… well he looked _cute_.

"Guys, c-can I please change back into my trunks, this is really uncomfortable" he rubbed his hands together as a few men were passing by behind him. He didn't notice them all turn their heads as they walked but he almost jumped and lit up red again when he heard one of them whistle "this is so embarrassing!" he whined.

"You know, I wasn't going to say anything, but Jesus Christ man" Ragnarok popped out of Crona's back and shook his head "do you have any idea how scary it is for me that _this_-" he gestured to Crona's body "-makes sense?"

"Come on Ragnarok, this is hard enough already" Crona's eyes were jammed tight and his face was still burning "I don't need you making it worse."

Ragnarok shrugged "whatever _Miss_ Gorgon" he slid back inside.

Tsubaki shifted around a little before walking up and patting Crona on the back "um… if it's any consolation you look cute" she offered, making him twitch.

Cute? Tsubaki just said he looked cute? Why did that make him feel so light and warm? Was this a normal feeling? Was there something wrong with him? Was he sick? Was he-

_"Crona!"_ Ragnarok yelled mentally _"shut up!"_

_"But Ragnarok, what's this weird feeling?" _Crona fidgeted around while Tsubaki led him with the others back to their spot.

Ragnarok groaned _"that's called happiness dumbass, you're really happy right now"_ he made a gagging noise _"and to think, all it takes to get you like this is someone calling you cute when you're in a bikini."_

"Man, I can't believe how much you look like a girl in that" Black Star shook his head as everyone sat down in their chairs and on their towels "well, I guess the only thing that would ruin this if you got excited" Crona frowned not understanding while a vein twitched in Maka's forehead "so! Tsubaki, Blair, Liz, Patty, don't do anything to get Crona-"

"CHOP! CHOP!" Black Star got another face-full of sand and the second chop shoved his entire head in while Maka fumed "what did I tell you about saying things like that!"

Black Star yanked his head out with a 'pop' and spat out a glob of sand "ok… I can… understand the first chop" he spat a few times trying to clear his mouth "but what was the second one for?"

Maka crossed her arms and looked away "how come you didn't tell me not to do anything?"

Black Star raised an eyebrow "sorry Maka, but unless someone was in as much love with you as I am, you couldn't turn on a light switch-" yet another chop silenced him.

"Uh, Maka?" Soul looked down at Black Star as he tried pulling his head out again "you do know he said he loved you right?" he chuckled.

"I know, but what he said still pisses me off" she pouted.

"What? Cause he's right?" Maka raised her book and he waved his hands frantically "ok, ok! I was just kidding!"

Maka crossed her arms "you're damn right you were."

"Well I agree with the loud boy, Crona does look like a girl, and he looks so _cute_ too!" Blair pulled Crona into a hug and laughed, and even while he blushed he noticed he didn't get that same fluffy feeling when Blair said he was cute.

"So Crona, do you feel alright?" Tsubaki asked after shaking her head at her buried partner "that suit isn't uncomfortable or anything?"

Crona shook his head and rubbed his arm "no, a-and that kind of scares me; how it actually feels normal on me."

Tsubaki rubbed the back of her head "oh, well then" she laughed a little uncomfortably.

"Yeah" he shifted around, equally uncomfortable.

"So, anyone interested in going in the water again?" Liz sensing the utter awkwardness of the situation, got up and stretched a bit "I'm starting to wonder what Crona would look like in the water now."

Crona groaned "oh come on Liz, please don't make me go in the water like this, it'll feel weird!"

Liz shrugged "hey a deal's a deal" she clapped her hands "alright Crona, lets go to the water, chop-chop."

_"I am really starting to dislike her"_ Crona thought with a pout as he got up reluctantly.

_"Hey, if it makes you feel better I hate all of your friends"_ Ragnarok said mentally.

_"No Ragnarok that doesn't make me feel better"_ Crona thought stepping into the water feeling even more uncomfortable then how he felt in the trunks.

"Aw, cheer up Crona" Patty swam over and gave him a little underwater jab "just because you're in a bikini doesn't mean you can't still have a good time."

"Yeah, you should listen to them Crona!" a second later there was a huge splash and Crona was sent under water. When he came up he saw Black Star laughing "and besides, it's impossible for you not to have fun when your god is around!"

Crona was about to say something but then he felt something missing and Black Star froze when he saw Crona's bikini top float up "dude…" Soul was walking towards them but he also froze when he saw the top "uhh, you wanna get that?" he and Black Star both turned around quickly, their faces red.

Crona dipped down to his neck, his own face red as the others came and saw what had gotten Soul and Black Star so flushed "can you please stop treating me like a girl, you already know I'm a boy" he grumbled.

Soul shifted around, not turning "sorry man, but if you could see yourself, you'd feel the same way as us."

Crona grabbed the top and began tying the back again _"oh well, I guess I'll just try to enjoy myself until this is over"_ he thought, almost not catching the beach ball Blair threw at him _"I mean, it's not like this can get any worse"_ he hit the ball up towards Patty.

…

It had eventually gotten late and the teens had called it a day for the beach, going back and using the resort's spa baths to get clean. Crona on the other hand stayed back and used the shower in his room. But when he came out in a fresh robe, something he knew how to deal with, he found Liz sitting down on his bed with some more clothes.

"You've got to be kidding me" Crona looked at the outfit Liz held out in front of her in his room "you… y-y-you can't be serious" he shook his head as she smiled innocently.

* * *

_**If you all want to see the outfit, check out the person who made this adorable look- **__** art/Hipster-Crona-D-288000598**__** - not my idea, no way could I ever create something like that.**_

* * *

"Aww, come on Crona, you'd look great in this" she pouted playfully as she lied the clothes down on the bed. Crona looked down at the white jacket covering the small pink shirt and then down to the black short-shorts "I think you'd make the hipster look work" Liz laughed handing him a pair of red rimmed glasses "I'll give you some time to change into that."

The moment she was out of the room Crona groaned and slumped onto one of the beds "why is this happening to me?"

"Because you were a dumbass who let himself get played" Ragnarok came out and looked down at the clothes Liz left "damn, just damn" he shook his head and slid back inside "you really fucked it up this time."

"I know" he yanked at his hair and groaned again "oh I hate this!" but he still put the clothes on, feeling that awful weirdness about how normal it felt on him "this is so wrong, this is _so_ wrong" he shook his head and walked out.

And once he was outside Liz clapped her hands with a little squeal "oh I knew it! I knew it would look good on you!"

"Wow, you totally look like a girl Crona" Patty stared with her child-like awe.

"I know" Crona was standing in front of them just like he was in the swim-suit, totally uncomfortable and hating every moment he wore these clothes "can we please just go?"

"Sure, you're probably wanting to show off your new look anyway" Liz wrapped an arm around his shoulder and led him to the elevator "ohhh, the others are gonna freak when they see you."

And that just made him feel even more awkward. When they reached the floor the others were on Liz nearly pushed Crona forward to get him out of the elevator towards the tables their friends were eating at.

"Hey there guys!" Liz called out waving with her free arm "wanna meet my new friend here?" she gestured to Crona.

The others all looked up from their meals and froze when they saw him "Crona?" Maka's eyes were wide "is… is that you?"

He nodded, shifting around "yeah… yeah it's me."

"Holy crap dude" Soul was equally shocked "you look like a chick."

He looked down and jammed his eyes shut "I know" he squeaked.

"Uh, hey guys, any of you seen Tsubaki?" Liz frowned not seeing her. She wanted her to see Crona most of all.

"Oh, yeah, she left about a minute ago to go take a late bath" Black Star jerked his thumb back towards a hallway which led to the baths.

"Huh, well that's too bad, I wanted to see her reaction to seeing Crona like this" Liz pouted. And upon saying that Black Star thought of something and he made sure no one saw the sly grin forming on his face

"So Crona, the hipster look huh?" Maka chuckled a little "I uh, like your glasses, they make you look really mature."

"Oh, t-thank you" Crona sat down in the open seat next to Black Star "um, s-so what do they have here exactly?"

Kid shrugged "mostly sodas."

"Oh, I-I've never tried soda before" he looked down at the menu curiously, completely missing everyone dumbstruck expressions.

"Crona… did you just say you've never had a soda before?" Soul scraped the inside of one of his ears.

Crona nodded "well, M-Medusa never let me eat or drink anything special, t-the most I ever got from her was a plate of spaghetti and water" he shrugged "and it always sounded weird to me being artificial, but you all seem to like it."

"Wow… to never have had a soda before" Liz shook her head "well if you're going to get anything, get the strawberry Fanta, we already know you like strawberries so that should be a good introduction."

"Fanta? That's a weird name for a drink" Crona frowned before closing his menu and going up to the counter to order his drink.

"Poor kid" Soul shook his head "he's never even had a soda yet."

"That Medusa really was a bitch" Liz crossed her arms and looked at Crona's back as he paid for his soda "how could you not let your own son have a soda?"

"How could any mother do any of the things to their son that Medusa did to Crona?" Maka took a sip of her own soda to try and cool her rising flame of anger.

"Did what now?" Crona showed back up only to hear the end of Maka's sentence.

Maka waved her hand "nothing, it doesn't matter" she smiled and then gestured to Crona's drink "so, you tried it yet?"

He shook his head "I didn't want to risk spilling it walking over here" he sat back down and bent the top of the straw towards him "it looks good though."

He leaned down and took a sip from the straw and he immediately smiled from the flavor as he swallowed "so, you like?" Liz chuckled at his expression.

Crona giggled taking another sip "the bubbles tickle."

And again, Crona's current appearance made all of the guys in the group blush faintly. _Cute_, was all that was going through their minds as Crona began slurping down the soda. And they would have all kept this train of thought if Crona hadn't gotten up to refill his cup… about five times and counting.

It was only after his eighth time getting up that anyone said anything "hey Crona, you wanna tone it down a notch?" Kid grabbed Crona wrist before he could drink his newest soda.

"But I can't help it, this stuff tastes amazing!" Crona laughed feeling bubbly all over.

Soul shook his head with disbelief, he'd never anyone drink this much soda in such a small amount of time "seriously dude, you're gonna explode if you drink anymore of that stuff" that made Crona freeze.

"Ex… E-explode?" he looked down at the soda and then back up at Soul "y-y-you mean I can explode from drinking soda?"

Soul sighed and rolled his eyes "no, you can't explode from drinking soda, it's just a figure of speech" he then poked the cup "but what I'm trying to say is that you need to lay off because I _know_ it's not good to down almost a gallon of soda in one sitting."

Crona rubbed the back of his head and smiled with some embarrassment "yeah I… I-I guess you're right" though that didn't stop him from taking another sip.

"Oh well, we know you like soda now, that's the whole reason we got you to try it" Black Star chuckled.

"Yeah, and he likes Fanta too" Patty laughed holding her orange flavored Fanta "Fanta for the win!" she bumped her cup against Crona's happily.

And so the group sat there a little longer, talking and laughing about Crona's newest love completely oblivious to the plan forming in a certain ninja's mind. A few minutes passed as he thought about the consequences of what he was about to do, but in the end he believed it would be worth it "hey Crona, can you come with me for a second?"

Crona frowned up from his newest cup of soda "hmm?"

"Just something I'm going to tell you to do is all" he got up and gestured for him to follow but it only earned an anxious look from the boy "come on, the bet said that you have to listen to any part of the winning team, and I'm part of the winning team" the others all looked at Black Star with confusion but no one stopped Crona from reluctantly following him into the start of the hallway he gestured to. When they were far enough away Black Star leaned onto one of the walls and grinned at the boy in front of him "alright Crona, here's what I want you to do" he pointed down the hallway "Tsubaki's down there taking a bath" his grin grew as he pointed to Crona "I want _you_ to go down there and bring something back for me."

Crona's jaw dropped "huh?"

"It's easy really, I just want you to go back into the girl's baths and bring back Tsubaki's bra-"

"HUH-" Black Star clamped his hands over Crona's mouth, stopping the yell before it could start and attract attention.

_"Quiet"_ he whispered slowly taking his hands off.

_"But, b-b-but I can't go in there, that's the girl's bath-"_

"And you look like a girl, and it's not like you're going to be stripping, so all you have to do is say you left something in there."

"But what if Tsubaki or someone else sees me-"

"Make sure they don't" he shrugged with a chuckle.

"Why?" Crona shook his head not understanding at all "why are you suddenly making me do this?"

He shrugged again "just having a little fun and this'll make a great story to tell the guys if everything works" he chuckled and when Crona just stared at him he made a 'shooing' motion "well come on Crona, before she's done."

Crona stared a little longer then walked down the hall shaking his head the entire way. How was he doing this? It's a stupid bet, how could he let it go so far as to make him steal a girl's bra- his _girlfriend's_ of all people too! He walked down the hall towards the baths and thankfully he didn't run into any people so he was in the clear up to the point where he was at the entrances of the baths.

He looked at them and was a little surprised and confused to see three doorways and when he looked up his confusion only doubled. There was the men's, the women's, and then there was the… the… _"what the heck is a Hedioshi?"_ he thought looking at the third sign but then shook his head and after taking a deep breath he reluctantly walked into the second door.

The first thing he noticed was the heat inside this room and then he saw how he could barely see because of the steam inside coming up from the water. He looked around, hugging the wall, walking towards where the clothes were supposed to be. He studied the wall and couldn't keep himself from breathing out in relief when he saw only one pair of clothes hung up and it was Tsubaki's.

_"Good, she's the only one in here, at least no one else can catch me"_ he stepped over to her clothes and began shaking _"I can't believe I'm doing this"_ he shook his head _"I just can __**not**__ believe I'm doing this."_

He opened up the dress and pulled the bra out, his hands trembling and his face burning from embarrassment not the heat, then he began folding it to hide it somewhere. Halfway between folding it though he heard something behind him "hello? Is someone there? I didn't hear anyone come in-" Crona snapped around to see Tsubaki but in doing so he caught a wet patch of tile and slipped, falling right on top of her.

* * *

_**And the next part you already know, but what happens afterwards, well *shrugs* sorry, you gonna just have to wait again to find out.**_

_** HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Evil laughter if fun!**_

_** But seriously though, I hoped you enjoyed it and that you think it was worth the wait. Tell me if you enjoyed and the next chapter will be up as fast as I can make it with my increasingly busy schedule and again, if you wish to see hipster Crona, check out my profile for the link.**_


	6. Sweetness

_**Ok guys, sorry about the wait, it just that what with school starting up and all me and the folks wanted to milk these last couple weeks for as much fun as we could and like I said what with school starting up I didn't have much time to work on this, but here we are regardless! And so to make up for the wait this is going to be another somewhat longer length chapter for this story. **_

_**And just a little side note, this: "…" equals a long period of time, while this: "~~~" equals a short period of time, I will be using the latter one a lot from now on.**_

_** And now that that's taken care of I'm just gonna shut up and let you read the story. Enjoy.**_

_** REVAMPED Chapter, hope you enjoy.**_

* * *

"_This is bad"_ Crona thought as his hands trembled above Tsubaki's shoulders _"this is very, __**very**__ bad" _he looked around the room and everything he saw just made him being here seem so much worse_ "R-Ragnarok, w-w-what do I do?"_

_"Hey, you told me to cut it out with all the crap I do, so nothing other then my usual stuff comes to mind."_

_"But you have to have something-"_

_"Sorry kid, but you're on your own here"_ he dived deep inside Crona to wait out the coming storm.

And while Crona was thinking about some way of explaining this situation Tsubaki slowly recovered from her shock at him being here and when she finally did her mind flooded with confusion "Crona?" she was already confused seeing him here but… was he wearing glasses? What was up with that? Right as she was about to ask him though she realized the situation and her eyes snapped wide "Crona! What are you doing in here!" she tried covering herself up.

He stammered endlessly before he could finally form a sentence "T-T-Tsubaki, I-I know this looks bad, I-I do, but I can explain."

Tsubaki, despite everything raised a shaky eyebrow _"kind of a difficult thing to explain"_ she shifted around underneath him, uncomfortable with this position they were in "hey uh, Crona-" she tried talking to him but he didn't hear her.

"I-I-I didn't want to come in here, I really didn't" he shook his head frantically.

"Ok Crona-" she tried again but again he didn't hear and kept on talking.

"I didn't have a choice, I really didn't, I-I would never come in here if I had a choice."

"Ok Crona, I get it you're sorry" she was beginning to get irritated with this situation "now could you please-"

"So please, please don't be mad at me, I-I didn't want to come in here, honest, I didn't, I didn't have a-"

Tsubaki rolled her eyes, all of her shock gone, now replaced with pure irritation as she reached up and grabbed his shoulders "Crona!" she snapped and he froze "calm. Down" it took some effort but he did as she ordered and slowly he began shaking less "ok good" she let go of him "now, could you please get off?"

Crona's eyes widened and he shot off of her and into the nearest corner of the room "I-I-I'm sorry! I-I didn't mean to-"

"Crona" he froze again as she picked herself back up, fixing the towel so nothing could show "take a deep breath and calm down" he took a few shaky breaths in response "now turn around" he scooted around to where he was now facing her "come over here" he moved up and was sitting up in front of her, though his eyes were downcast shamefully "now explain what this is all about" she crossed her arms.

Crona winced at her expression. She was angry with him now, no she probably hated him now, he couldn't deal with that, he couldn't deal with Tsubaki hating him "I-I-I'm so sorry Tsubaki, I-I didn't want to come in here honest, I-I-I only came in here because I… I…" he went over the answer and even he knew it sounded like an excuse. She would never believe him and now she was going to hate him forever and he was going to be alone again.

His breathing began getting more and shallow at the thought of her hating him, and the sight of this confused Tsubaki. What was he getting so worked up about? All she asked him to do was explain why he was here. She was just about to ask him what was wrong when she realized the expression on her face and she mentally slapped herself for looking the way she did. What was she doing! She couldn't go around looking at Crona like that! Now he probably thought she was mad at him and he must be feeling absolutely horrible.

"_I am so __**stupid**__!"_ she mentally scolded herself while her outside look saddened as he trembled in front of her _"poor Crona, he must be feeling awful now and it's all my fault"_

"I'm sorry" Crona looked down, his face full of shame and that just made her feel so much worse.

She hesitated at first but slowly reached out and gently put her hand on his shoulder "hey Crona?" he looked up at her cautiously and she gave him the best smile she could "you don't have to apologize to me, I should be the one apologizing for looking at you like that" she rubbed his shoulder softly as his face flooded with confusion "I was just a little miffed is all, I'm not mad at you."

"You… you're not?"

She shook her head, still smiling "no, I'm not mad" she gave him a gentle pat "look Crona, I know you, and I know for a fact that you wouldn't step foot inside this room unless you were being forced to, you're a good person" she gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze then crossed her arms again "so, who's the one who made you do it and how did they make you?"

Crona rubbed the back of his head "y-you're sure you aren't mad?" to say he felt relieved by her nod would be an understatement. He wasn't shaking as much now that he knew she wasn't angry but he was still feeling really bad about this situation "well… y-you know that bet Soul and I made today?" she nodded "w-well you see, Black Star used it to-"

Tsubaki's smile broke as she comprehended what he just said "Black Star?"

He nodded, not liking the look on her face "y-y-yeah, he told me to come back here, h-he said something about getting a great story to tell back at the academy when we got back."

She then groaned at how it made perfect sense that he was the one who did this "oh I should've known!" she turned so Crona couldn't see her face flooding with anger "of course it was Black Star, who else would do something like this?" she shook her head while Crona shook some more, not knowing how to deal with seeing her so mad "I swear when I get my hands on him I'm gonna…" she squeezed on the air in front of her imagining it was Black Star before she pinched the bridge of her nose and breathed deeply _"ok, calm down Tsubaki, you need to be calm right now, you don't want to freak Crona out do you?" _she thought taking a few more calming breaths before turning back to Crona "ok, I'm sorry about that Crona" she was smiling as if she hadn't just made a death threat towards her partner.

"N-No, it's alright, I-I can understand if you're angry" though that didn't make it any easier to deal with however.

"Thanks for understanding" she then shook her head with a sigh "Black Star, of course it was him, he's always causing trouble" she mumbled irritably "oh well, I'll take are of him later, please go on ahead and continue… what you were…" the steam in the room around Crona had finally began to fade away and Tsubaki was eventually able to see what he was wearing "Crona what are you… are those… are you wearing short-shorts?"

He tensed and shifted around, gripping his arm "yeah, a-a-about those…" he rubbed his arm uncomfortably.

Tsubaki saw everything he was in and after getting over the initial surprise couldn't stop herself from letting out a small laugh, immediately understanding where it all came from "Liz?" she held her hand over her mouth but Crona could still hear a few snickers escape.

He nodded with a sigh "Liz" he winced as Tsubaki broke down laughing and while she fell onto her back gripping her sides he thought _"this is so humiliating."_

Tsubaki laughed a little longer as Crona whined in his mind about how embarrassing this all was "of course" she chuckled, picking herself up "who else would put you in something like that?" she continued chuckling for a while longer and when she was finally done she shook her head with a smile "oh Crona, I'm so sorry about all of this."

"What?" he began waving his hands "oh, no, no y-you don't have to apologize, you haven't done anything wrong" he pressed his index fingers together looking guilty "I'm the one who did something bad here."

Tsubaki just smiled at him "no, you haven't done anything either, everyone knows you're a good kid who never does anything wrong" _"unless someone is making you"_ she thought at the end, not wanting him to hear and suffer through some bad memories. She then shook off that negative thought and began looking over his clothing scratching her head "I can't believe all of this is happening to you, I mean it's all just so _wrong_" she got to her feet and reached out to help him up "they haven't made you do anything really bad have they?" she asked quickly, preparing herself to flay alive every person involved if he said yes.

He shook his head as he took her hand, completely missing her murderous intent towards those involved if he answered yes "no, this is the worst they've made me do so far."

"Well that's good" she breathed out in relief, but after Crona was back on his feet and rubbing his arm she couldn't help but go back to staring at his attire. The entire time she was looking at him _"cute"_ was all that made up her thoughts when she saw how well those shorts fit on him, showing off those woman like curves and that adorable butt of his- _"oh my"_ Tsubaki began blushing and she looked off to the side trying to forget that last perverted thought.

They were then silent for a little while, allowing a bit of an awkward moment to set in between them as Tsubaki blushed to her self and looked around the room trying to get rid of her thoughts of Crona who was fiddling with the hems of the shorts which caused her current discomfort.

"Sooo…" Tsubaki finally broke the silence, still somewhat weirded out by the thought of Crona being attractive in that way "what uhh, what exactly was it that Black Star made you risk coming in here for?"

Crona tensed again and began blushing deeply "oh, w-well he… um, w-well he told me to… to…"

"He told you tooo…" she waved her hand around, having absolutely no idea what was going on. He thought about it and he really didn't want to make her really angry by telling her the truth, he still remembered what happened in the elevator today "it's alright Crona, he made you do whatever it is you're here for, and I've already forgiven you" but ultimately he found that he just couldn't lie to her.

"_Ohhh, I don't know how to deal with this situation"_ he groaned mentally as he rubbed his arm "he wanted me to come in here and…"

She cocked her head to the side "go ahead Crona; I won't get mad at you."

He knew she was telling the truth but he still jammed his eyes shut "he wanted me to come in here and… _and take your bra"_ he squeaked and Tsubaki froze, looking at him dumbstruck.

"He… _what?_" Crona backed up a few steps as everything seemed to darken around her "why that little…." she was actually shaking she was so mad but then she took another deep breath and shook her head, returning to normal "he is so dead when I get my hands on him" she shook her head, walking over to her clothes where she then pulled out her bra "but until I go back to the room and get a new bra, can you please do something for me when you get back to him with this?" she held it out for him.

"W-wait, you… y-y-you're just going to give it to me?" it was Crona's turn to be surprised and confused.

She nodded and looked off to the side with a grimace "I know how Black Star works, and frankly I don't want him to dead-arm you for not following the bet."

"D-dead-arm me?" he stuttered, that sounded scary.

"Basically where he punches your arm, and knowing him it would probably hurt really bad" she held the bra out again "so go ahead, I can hurry back up to our room and get a new one, and besides, I'll need some new clothes anyway."

He frowned "h-how come?" she picked up her dress and he saw a few drops of water fall off into the small puddle beneath it "o-oh no! I got your clothes wet! I'm so sorry-"

She smiled and shook her head "not your fault Crona, I already told you that" she pushed the bra towards him one last time "now could you please hurry up and take it? It's starting to get a little chilly in here" she shivered a little as a cool breeze blew in through the doorway and brushed up her back.

He felt really weird taking it from her but he still pulled it out of her hand "r-right, sorry" he rubbed his hands together with embarrassment after putting the bra in his pocket "s-s-so what did you want me to do when I got back to Black Star?" he asked earning a more devious smile from Tsubaki.

"Hey Black Star?" he looked over at a curious looking Maka "what did you make Crona do exactly? He's been gone for a while" she asked noticing his fifth glance at the hallway the boy went down.

Black Star just grinned and shrugged "oh you guys'll find out if all goes well."

Liz frowned "and if it doesn't?"

_"Then I probably just sent Crona off to his death"_ he thought but then he pushed that back and shrugged again "you'll find out when he gets back."

Maka saw the sly grin on his face and began staring daggers at him "Black Star, I swear if you made him do something bad…" her hand steadily reached for her book.

Soul saw this and grabbed her wrist "whoa, let's calm it down there Maka" he gave his partner a calming pat on the shoulder "let's just wait for Crona to get back and ask him what happened before you bring out the book, okay? We don't need you shattering the table or the floor tiles with Black Star's skull now do we?"

Maka was still looking at Black Star but finally crossed her arms "alright fine, we'll wait for him."

Soul breathed out with relief right before he noticed a flash of pink coming down the hallway Black Star was looking at and he gestured to it "and speak of the devil here he is" he waved Crona over to the group's new table.

Black Star got up and chuckled, clapping his hands "Crona! So you _are_ still alive, that's great!"

Liz raised an eyebrow "wait a sec, still alive? What's that all about?"

Black Star completely ignored her "so Crona, did you get it?"

Crona nodded looking really uncomfortable "yeah, I got it."

"Got what?" Kid frowned.

"Yeah, what'd Black Star make you get?" Maka shared Kid's expression.

Crona's face reddened in response as he reached for his back pocket "n-no one get angry, please" he pulled out Tsubaki's bra and everyone's jaw dropped.

"Is that a b-" Black Star clamped his hands over Maka's mouth, cutting off the yell.

_"Shush up!" _he whispered slowly pulling his hands back and then turning back to Crona with another grin "alright Crona, it looks like you did it and Tsubaki didn't kill you either, nice one."

"Wait a minute… this is Tsubaki's?" Kid pointed down at the bra with utter shock "you made Crona steal Tsubaki's bra?"

Crona stared at Black Star irritably "actually she gave it to me" that surprised everyone, even Black Star.

"Wait… she caught you?" he didn't understand how Crona didn't have a throwing star in him anywhere then, he usually always got one when he walked in on her.

Crona nodded again "yes, but thankfully she let me explain" he looked back at Black Star "she also asked me to do something when I got back."

Black Star frowned "what's that?" Crona just stood in front of him looking really nervous but then he took a deep breath, steeling his resolve "Crona-" the swordsman pulled his leg back and kicked up.

A metallic _bong_ rang out as Crona's leg connected with Black Star's tenders and everyone's jaw hit the floor. Black Star didn't even react at first too; it took a few seconds for his body to realize what had just happened. Ever so slowly his eyes began bugging out of his head until he fell to his knees when the pain caught up to him. The others got over the shock quickly and they all grimaced and winced at Black Star as he fell face-first to the ground.

"Wow, he went down faster then Liz in a haunted house!" Patty blurted out.

"Damn dude" Soul looked up from Black Star to Crona who was actually looking really proud of himself "seriously Crona what the hell man?"

"T-Tsubaki asked me to give Black Star a good hit for her while she got a new bra" he rubbed the back of his head and giggled a little "and I have to say, that felt… w-well that actually felt pretty _good!_"

Maka shook her head and looked down to Black Star, still surprised with what happened, especially since it was Crona who did this "I get that he deserved that and all but geez Crona" she picked him up by the back of his shirt and saw his blank eyes along with the fact that he was drooling "you knocked him out cold; I didn't think you had it in you."

"Well if you ask me the little bastard deserved it" Ragnarok popped and crossed his arms "and besides, it's about time Crona beat somebody's ass on his own" he looked down at Black Star and raised an eyebrow when he saw the drool "though uhh, he probably just made it so the guy won't be having much 'fun' for a few days."

"Oh trust me; he's had plenty of fun for one day" Crona smiled hearing Tsubaki's voice and turned to face her.

"H-hi Tsubaki, I did like you said I should and…" the sentence died when he saw her.

It's not that she was wearing anything particularly flashy; it's just the way it looked on her. She was wearing a snug fitting purple turtle-neck with a pair of gray sweats and she also decided not to put her hair up so it was just hanging loose around her shoulders and to him she looked absolutely amazing.

"Yeah, I can see that" she laughed seeing her unconscious partner "too bad he isn't awake though" she shrugged "oh well, I can punish him later I guess."

"Yeah, he definitely deserves it after what he made Crona do" Maka dragged Black Star closer to the table so no one would trip over him while Tsubaki sat down.

After she took her seat next to Crona, Liz couldn't help but stare at the two of them, holding back laughter "so Black Star really made you try to steal Tsubaki's bra?" she couldn't hold back a small laugh in Crona's direction when he nodded.

His eyes dropped shamefully "I never would have agreed to this if I had a choice, but the bet made me-"

"You could have always said no" Patty giggled.

Crona frowned at her "but then Black Star would have dead-armed me-"

"Then all you'd have to do is harden your blood and you wouldn't have felt a thing" Patty snickered again.

"You mean I could have… I didn't have to…" Crona let that information set in his mind before slamming his forehead down into the table "oh I'm such an idiot!" he groaned loudly earning laughs from everyone else.

Tsubaki smiled as she rubbed his back comfortingly "don't worry about it Crona, you aren't used to things like this yet is all, you can't blame yourself for not understanding how this works."

Soul nodded with a chuckle "yeah, we're really gonna have to get you someone to teach you about how bets work" he thought about it for a bit then shrugged "I'm sure Blair could help you out with it, later though, 'cause as you can see she's not here."

Crona looked up and around and saw that Soul was right and then he remembered not seeing her the last time he linked up with the group "yeah, where is she? I-I didn't see her the last time I was here either."

Soul gestured over to the elevators "she went back up to our room" he pointed to Liz and himself "something about getting her beauty sleep."

Maka rolled her eyes "oh sure, all it takes to look the way she does is sleep huh?" her voice was laced with sarcasm before she twitched and let out a loud yawn. She blushed a little after the sudden noise as the other chuckled at her "though I guess sleep does sound pretty good right about now" she stretched her arms up and groaned before getting to her feet "I think me and Black Star are gonna head back to our rooms and call it a day" she picked the ninja up and supported him over her shoulder "I had a lot of fun today guys" she waved to them as she walked off towards the elevators "night."

The others nodded and waved back and soon after, Soul got up and pushed on his back with a groan of his own "yeah, I think I'm done too" he kept pushing till something popped and he rubbed his neck after "you comin' Liz?" she nodded and got up while her sister and Kid did the same.

"Yes, today was quite fun" Kid checked his watch and he smiled "and what's even better, it's just a little while to twelve" his eyes began sparkling as he pulled Patty along with him "finally I've gotten the excuse to stay up to midnight, get my well needed eight hours of sleep, and wake up at the perfect time of 8 the next day!"

Patty just laughed at him as they walked away and after everyone was inside the elevators and heading up to their rooms, Tsubaki and Crona were all alone together at the table.

The two were silent for a while as Crona spent his time poking at an empty glass, trying not to stare at Tsubaki "so uh, a-are you tired yet Tsubaki? Y-y-you can head back to the room if you want."

Tsubaki frowned at him "but then what about you?"

He tapped the menu in front of him "R-Ragnarok told me yesterday that he wanted me to buy him the best desert they have here."

"Hell yeah I did!" Ragnarok popped out and looked down at the menu "oh man, the stuff they got here looks freakin' awesome!"

Tsubaki ignored Ragnarok and she looked back down at Crona "but if I left then wouldn't you be all alone here?"

Crona shrugged while Ragnarok began drooling down onto the table as he looked at the food choices "no, I'll be fine, you don't have to waste your time and stay here with me if you don't want to."

Her look saddened a fraction before she sighed, reaching out towards him "hey Crona?"

"Huh-" he looked up just as she gave him a light tap on the head with her fist, making sure not to hit him hard enough to hurt him, but hard enough to make him rub his head with confusion.

"I'm really sorry about that, but you really need to stop being such a dummy" she uncurled her hand and gave him a gentle pat on the head.

"A dummy?" he frowned.

"You always talk about yourself like you're wasting everyone's time just by being around us, but nothing could be further from the truth" she ruffled his hair smiling "you're our friend Crona and we all love being around you."

It was then that Ragnarok rolled his eyes with a groan "oh come on, really? Why'd you have to go and make everything all sappy?" Tsubaki glared up at him "I mean if you want to make me sick just gag me with a spoon, it's much faster-" he finally caught Tsubaki's murderous look and he held his hands up with a shiver "sorry" he quickly slid back inside of Crona who was still mulling over what Tsubaki had said as she went back to smiling at him.

"You really mean that? You all like being around me?"

"Yes, we really do" she then looked out a nearby window pursing her lips as she considered something for a bit then she nodded to herself, coming to a decision "and to answer your earlier question, no I'm not tired" she got to her feet and stretched "I think I'll take a little walk down the beach" she then held her hand out to Crona with a smile "wanna come with?"

He was a little surprised by her asking, but not as surprised as he normally would have been before everything that's happened between them "oh, um, s-sure-"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa! Wait a minute!" Ragnarok's head popped out of Crona's back "what about my desert-"

Tsubaki gave him another death-glare "you can wait."

He shivered again at the sight of that glare "right, message received, shutting up now" he slid back in.

She then looked back down to Crona "you were saying?"

He rolled his shoulders, a little uncomfortable with the look he saw on her face but he quickly got over it "I-I said I'd love to."

Her smile grew as she took his hand and pulled him up "great."

He was a little confused and embarrassed with her holding his hand the whole time they walked out of the resort and to the sand but he had to admit he liked this feeling. Her soft hands gave him a nice, warm, tingly feeling trailing all the way up his arm and into his chest.

After kicking off their sandals at the beach entrance of the resort the two of them walked down the edge of the water ~still holding hands, much to Crona's enjoyment~ sometimes stepping through the water when it came up to them, and picking up shells that they thought looked pretty until eventually they got tired of walking and sat down in the sand a safe distance from the water.

They then spent their times digging around in the sand with their feet, sometimes picking up and tossing large shells, seeing who could skip them over the water the most times. It was only when Crona tossed a shell and threw his arms up with a laugh after he skipped it six times that Tsubaki smiled over at him, enjoying the sight of him so happy "so Crona, have you enjoyed the trip so far?" she asked as he reached back down and traced his finger around in the sand, looking for another shell to toss.

He looked up from his task and smiled back "y-yeah, today was really nice" he found another shell and smiled down at it "I-I had a lot of fun today, and I enjoyed everything" he then played that back in his mind and his smile went a little crooked as he shifted his shoulders around "well… not everything, I-I mean it's not like I like wearing things like this or anything, I-I really don't."

Tsubaki snickered at him as he tried correcting himself "surrrrre, whatever you say" she poked him in the side a few times "of course you don't enjoy wearing this stuff."

Crona squirmed but couldn't keep himself from laughing "come on Tsubaki, c-cut it out that tickles."

"Why? I thought you were enjoying yourself" she laughed poking him again.

"I-I am" he laughed falling onto his back where Tsubaki kept on poking him "T-Tsubaki, stop it!" he gasped, still laughing "you- you're going to get sand in my clothes a-and I don't know how to deal with that!" he tried gripping his sides, but in doing so he caught Tsubaki's hands and dragged her down right on top of him so they were face to face.

The two of them went instantly silent and looked into each other's eyes for about a second before hopping up onto their knees in a flash, facing opposite directions "sorry" they said in unison.

They were both completely silent as they stared off in their individual directions, Tsubaki twirling her finger through a few strands of her loose hair and Crona gripping his arm not knowing how to deal with this. They remained like this for a couple minutes but Tsubaki just couldn't hold her apology back and she slowly turned a fraction "hey Crona?" he slowly turned as well, though he was facing downward "I'm really sorry about that, I guess I got a little carried away."

"No, it's alright, y-you were just having fun" he poked around in the sand again "and besides, t-that was actually a little fun."

Tsubaki relaxed hearing that "oh that's good; I was scared that I made you feel bad."

He shook his head as they both turned towards the water "n-no, if anything, being around you makes me feel the complete opposite."

Tsubaki smiled at that "really?"

He nodded, blushing a little bit "y-you're always so nice to me, a-and you always try to keep me feeling happy" he poked the sand again "I like being around you."

Tsubaki was blushing faintly herself now "… the feeling's mutual."

He looked over at her with some surprise "really?"

She nodded, poking around in the sand herself now "you're so different from Black Star."

He frowned "what do you mean?"

"I mean I care about him like a brother and all, but sometimes he gets so out of control, it gets really annoying at times" she smiled over at him "but you're not like him, you're kind, and gentle, sweet-"

Crona rubbed the back of his head blushing deeper "c-come on Tsubaki, cut it out."

She smiled with a little laughed but kept going regardless "but I'm not done Crona, I want you to understand exactly what I think of you" she hugged her knees to her chest and ran her finger up her legs "you see, it's not just the way Black Star acts, it's the way nearly every boy I'm around acts" she puffed out her cheeks with some irritation "so many of them whisper about me behind my back, talking about nothing but my body, and sometimes it just gets so unbelievably _annoying!_" she growled to herself.

She stayed on that thought for a while, grinding her teeth at the memory of every perverted thing she's heard about herself but she then took a breath and looked back to Crona with another little smile "but not you Crona, you aren't like them, you don't treat a girl nicely because of her looks, you treat her the way you do because she's a person who deserves respect just like anyone else" she flicked around with her hair again "I admire you for that."

_"She admires me?"_ he was both surprised and confused by that _"what is there to admire about me? It's not like I'm anything special."_

As if hearing his thought she continued as she picked up another shell and rolled her thumb over the side of it "no matter what anyone says, no matter what anyone does to you, you always try to give them a chance until they do something truly terrible to you; most others would give up long before you ever do" she tossed the shell out and after watching it skip over the water a couple times she smiled over to him again "you've always been a wonderful person like that" Crona felt that tingling in his chest again after hearing that, but right as he was about to thank her for what she said about him a breeze blew in and Crona shivered at its cool touch "are you cold?" Tsubaki's mother-mode activated again when he kept shivering.

He nodded, rubbing his arms up and down to try and heat himself up "a-a little bit yes."

Tsubaki sighed, shaking her head "I knew Liz shouldn't have given you something so small to wear, it was supposed to get cold tonight" she watched him shiver next to her for a little longer before she held her hand out "come on, get over here."

"W-what?" Crona frowned, not understanding.

"Let me help you warm up" she took his hand and pulled him over to her "and before you even say anything Crona, no, I don't have to do this, but I _want_ to do this" she picked him up and slid him onto her lap, making him blush even deeper then before "so don't even try talking me out of it."

"B-b-but Tsubaki-"

"Ah-ah-ah, what did I just say?" she slid her arms underneath his and wrapped him in a hug from behind, earning a squeak "I'm helping you and you're going to like it, that's final."

Crona shifted around a little, looking down to the sand next to him "I-it's not that I don't like it…" with all honesty he loved this feeling right now "I-I-I just don't want to be a burden."

"Well go ahead and stop your worrying because I feel fine" Tsubaki rested her chin on the back of his shoulder "you aren't doing anything that's inconvenient for me."

Crona gripped his arm not knowing how to deal with someone being so assertive and kind at the same time "you're sure I'm not being any trouble? I-I'm not too heavy?"

Tsubaki laughed "heavy? Crona you aren't heavy, if anything you need to put on a few more pounds" she tapped his stomach "I can barely feel you right now."

Crona squirmed from that touch but he didn't feel bad "b-b-but what about the sand on my shorts? I-I'm getting it all over you-"

"So I'll just brush it off" she rested her chin on the top of his head "really Crona, you need to stop worrying about every little thing, you aren't troubling anyone" he was about to say something else but Tsubaki beat him to it "come on Crona, can you let it go? Do it for me?" she gave him a pleading smile.

He took one look at her and he broke instantly "I… ok" he looked down with a sigh "… sorry, I just don't want to feel like I'm causing anyone trouble."

"I understand Crona; all your problem is is that you haven't learned how to deal with things like this yet" she turned his head they were looking at each other and she smiled "but that's why I'm here, to help teach you how to deal with it."

Crona was a little embarrassed by their close proximity but overall he felt really happy about what she said "thanks Tsubaki."

She smiled and hugged him closer "no problem."

They sat like that for what felt like a while, Tsubaki holding Crona long past the point where he was warm again, and Crona relaxing more and more to the point where he felt he could actually fall asleep in her arms. And at the rate his eyes were drooping closed he probably would have too if Tsubaki hadn't given him a light shake _"Crona, wake up and look at this"_ she whispered, sounding excited.

Crona rubbed his eyes and looked out where she pointed and his eyes widened when he saw something jump out of the water soon followed by a few more _"dolphins"_ was what he thought immediately when he saw the fins.

Tsubaki saw his awestruck expression and couldn't repress a small laugh "you see Crona, I knew we'd have a chance of seeing some" all he could do was nod as he fell back into her, taking in the whole sight of the group of dolphins as they hopped out and back into the water and soon he felt Tsubaki breath out "they're beautiful aren't they?"

He looked back at her and saw how to moon's light reflected back onto her hair and made it shine in a few places and how wonderful her smile looked. He felt himself relax even more and he didn't even realize what he said next "yeah… you really are."

She heard what he said and looked down at him with surprise "what?"

It was only after she asked that he realized what he said "I-I-I mean they are, t-t-the dolphins" he shaking and blushing very deeply again.

Tsubaki was silent as she put together what he had just said "Crona… did you just say you think I'm beautiful?"

His eyes darted around as he tried to answer "I… I-I didn't… I didn't mean…" he glanced up at her and saw her curious face and again he just couldn't lie. He looked back down at the sand and jammed his eyes shut and squeaked out a _"yes."_

"I- well I, that- you actually…" she stammered for words herself; she never expected to hear that from _him_ of all people.

"I'm sorry" he squeaked out.

Despite all of her surprise Tsubaki frowned "why are you sorry?"

"Y-you said you hated it when guys say things like that about you" he gripped his arms tightly and began shaking more "I-I'm so sorry for making you angry, I-I didn't mean it, so please don't hate me for it."

Tsubaki's eyed him with concern "hate you? What are you talking about? I could never hate you, especially not for saying something like that."

Now Crona was both scared~ not as much as before but still~ and confused as he looked back at her "but… but you said that you-"

Tsubaki shook her head with a relieved laugh, understanding now "I don't think you understood what I was trying to say before" she rested her chin on his shoulder and smiled at him "the things those boys say about me are perverted, they only say it because they want my body, and like I said before you're nothing like them."

"So… so you aren't mad?"

"No, if anything I'm… well I'm happy you think that" she looked back out at the water hoping to try and hide her growing blush "for you to say something like that about me… it means a lot."

"H-how come?"

"Because you're an innocent boy who means everything he says" she began blushing a little more as she thought about his words "so… you actually think I'm beautiful?" he slowly nodded, blushing ten times as deeply as she was "why exactly do you think I'm beautiful?"

"Oh, well I… well…" he took a glance at her and saw her curious face "… because of everything about you" he rubbed his arm with some discomfort; this was _very_ embarrassing for him to say.

Tsubaki~ completely beside herself~ smirked "I mean specifically."

"You're so nice all the time, you always try to keep everyone safe and happy" he drew little circles on his arm with a small smile "if anything you almost act like a mom to all of us" Tsubaki's own smile softened from hearing that "and that shows in your soul, I-it looks sweet and kind."

"Well no wonder we get along so well, I sound really familiar to _somebody_ I know" she smiled into his shoulder "what else do you like?"

"You… well you smell really nice."

Tsubaki's smile went a little crooked "you've been smelling me?"

Crona tensed and he shook his head frantically "no! No-no-no-no! I'm not some kind of creep who would do something like that!" he shifted around on her with major discomfort "it's just… w-we've done this so many times before… h-hugging I mean, so I… I-I've just gotten used to… to how you smell."

She felt somewhat weird by the comment but still what he said was nice "so how exactly do I smell?"

"Sweet… pretty… l-like flowers I guess" he then chuckled somewhat cautiously "k-kind of weird considering what you're named after and all" he tensed after that "n-n-not that I'm calling you weird or anything! Y-you're anything but-"

"Crona" he stopped and when he looked back he saw the smile on her face "thank you."

He looked back forward, blushing "s-sure, n-n-no problem."

_"All these nice things he says about me"_ she thought as he twirled his thumbs and then something hit her _"we've been doing this for a while now…"_ she thought, remembering back to the following weeks since that night back at Soul and Maka's. Then after that thought she wondered why something like this hadn't happened yet, a nice little intimate time between them. Then it finally hit her _"oh my god… I've been babying him"_ she realized with a little guilt and embarrassment _"all this time… and I've been treating him like a little kid."_

She thought about it more and realized they hadn't even kissed each other once since that night, the most she ever did was kiss his forehead or cheek and treat him like a little boy who said something polite to his mom. She looked at him and noticed him blushing and how flustered he seemed because of what he just told her, and over all she found he was just acting like a normal teenager who was nervous about talking to a girl he liked.

Her blush was back when she thought about how adorable he seemed _"is that so wrong?"_ she thought, remembering all the times she thought about how cute he was _"I am his girlfriend after all, so it should only be natural I think about him like that" _she then thought about it for a little before coming to a decision: she had been a bad girlfriend all these weeks, treating him the way she had, like a child instead of a boy she was dating and she needed to make it up to him… _"And I can enjoy myself in the process too, I mean it's not like I haven't thought about it"_ she thought with a naughty smile.

"Hey Crona?" he felt her shift under him and when he turned Tsubaki was inches from his face "about those things you said about me… I… want to thank you for that" just because she thought about it doesn't mean it wasn't weird for her to actually say it.

"Oh, I-it's no problem, really it's not" he tried turning back but Tsubaki's hand cupped his cheek stopping him "Tsubaki?"

She reconsidered for a brief second and then smiled. She was going to go through with this, he deserved it, and… well she would be lying if she said she didn't want to try "you know, I still haven't forgotten that night" she smiled with a faint blush "you know; the one where this all started between us?"

"Yeah?" his blush got steadily deeper "a-and?"

"And… well I've been curious about something for a while now" she moved her hand off his cheek and brushed it over the edge of his lips.

"C-curious about what?" he was shaking a little as she took her hand away and rubbed his back softly, but if it was from fear or excitement he didn't know.

"Just something about flavor" she wrapped him in a gentle hug as she leaned in.

Crona literally stopped breathing when Tsubaki closed her eyes as her lips touched his _"this… this isn't happening"_ he thought in total denial _"I must be dreaming because there's no way this is happening."_

_"Oh trust me Crona, you aren't dreaming"_ he heard Ragnarok's shocked voice _"a girl is actually kissing you. __**You**__ of all people!" _he could feel Ragnarok shaking his head within him_ "I can't believe it, but the impossible has actually been made possible."_

Soon after the confirmation that this was real all Crona could think about was how soft and warm Tsubaki felt against him at this one moment, and how gentle and careful she was being as she deepened the kiss ever so slowly. Crona's thoughts went totally blank when he felt something brush up against his bottom lip andhe couldn't stop himself from parting them. The moment after doing so he felt something slip into his mouth and hesitantly brush up against his tongue and the only thing that went through his utterly blank mind was the sweet taste in his mouth and the feeling of Tsubaki pulling his near limp body closer as his eyes slipped shut, enhancing this moment of sweetness he was experiencing.

They remained like this for about two minutes, two minutes of Crona experiencing pure bliss while Tsubaki's mouth flooded with the taste of sharp strawberries, no doubt from the soda he had earlier. And while she took her time, not pushing too much or forcing him to keep going she flicked her tongue around in his mouth until she hit one spot and noticed a sort of natural sweetness behind the strawberries, one that made her skin prickle with giddy Goosebumps. And once she pressed up against that spot again, only deeper this time, the flavor shot up making her smile into the kiss as she laid back, letting Crona hang limp on top of her as they kissed.

Soon though they both had to breathe and Tsubaki pulled back, finally letting Crona's brain turn back on as they both breathed heavily "you… you just…" he couldn't even finish the thought let alone the sentence with what little brain power he had at the moment.

Tsubaki on the other hand smiled at him with a little laugh "looks like I was right about you" she lightly pushed him up and after getting to her feet she helped him up too, noticing with slight amusement how limp his body was.

"Right about what?"

She tapped him on the nose "you taste exactly how you act."

"How's that?" he asked with faded eyes, wobbling on legs that he could barely feel anymore.

She giggled at his loose actions as she took his hand, steadying him "you taste sweet" she began walking towards the resort "alright come on Crona, I think we've stayed up long enough, I don't want you waking up tired because of me" she said, going right back to being her usual motherly self.

Hey, old habits die hard, and her treating Crona like this would probably never end… though that didn't mean she wouldn't go this far again as a little reward to him if he did anything _really_ nice for her.

And while she trailed off to thoughts about how wonderful that felt ~practically dragging Crona along while doing so~ a single thought managed to form in the shell-shocked boy's head _"she tastes sweet"_ Tsubaki didn't notice the small, goofy smile that slowly formed on his face _"I like sweet."_

_"Well lucky for you, you're probably going to be getting some more o' that action, what with miss big tits here wanting suck as much face with you as she did."_

And for once in his life, Crona actually didn't freak out at his partner's perverted statement, he was far too relaxed because of what had just happened _"shut up Ragnarok"_ he thought dreamily, with no anger or any emotion but blissful happiness _"just shut up and go to sleep"_ he thought as his legs game out and he fell forward onto Tsubaki's shoulder, knocking her to her knees.

Ragnarok only chucked to himself in response as Crona passed out on Tsubaki _**"wow, that really scrambled him"**_ he thought to himself _**"he doesn't even realize we're still on the beach"**_ he chuckled a little more as she picked the sleeping Crona up, worrying a little if she went to far and broke the sensitive boy.

* * *

_**OK, does this make up for the wait? Did I handle that part at the beginning well? Was the end scene enjoyable? Seriously though, I just felt like parts of this chapter were a little fast paced and I wanted to know if it was too fast because I know how it can totally kill the mood if it is.**_


	7. About Yestrday

_**So yeah, I finally got the time to finish this chapter up! Bout freakin' time right? But hey, you guys all know the deal don't you? What with school and all that crap; not much time to work on things like this much to my eternal displeasure! Can I get an amen?!**_

… _**Anybody? … Please? … Guys? … God I'm so lonely**_** (-_-.)**

_**Oh well anyway, back to this! As always I apologize to those of you who actually enjoy this story for the long wait I've put you through, I thank those of you who have stayed with me so far and left their kinds reviews and I hope those people and all of the new readers with them enjoy the newest chapter.**_

_** And BTW, for those of you who have noticed, the title has been changed. The reason for this is that Part 1 will be the "innocent" beginning of Crona and Tsubaki's relationship. Part 2 will be when the Lemony chapters I promised in the 1**__**st**__** chapter come into play.**_

_**So now, without further adieu, please enjoy.**_

_** REVAMPED, I hope you enjoy. And also, see the bottom of the chapter for info on **__**Three Little Words Part 2**__**.**_

* * *

Many hours later Crona woke up the next morning feeling incredibly relaxed, yet he didn't know why as he opened his eyes to the dimly lit room. It looked like it was still early in the morning, but he didn't really notice that for his thoughts were elsewhere at the moment. For once in his life he didn't feel tense or stressed out about waking up to a new day and he noticed that he wasn't worrying about something happening to ruin it, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out why. He kept on trying to figure out why he felt the way he did this particular morning and then rolled over in the large, comfy bed… just to find himself staring at Tsubaki sleeping in front of him in a white Kimono with a small smile on her face. Just seeing that sweet smile jogged his memory and he instantly began blushing as he rolled back over to face the other side of the bed.

He remembered all of yesterday now, and he frowned for a second before lifting up his side of the covers and he stifled a groan when he saw that he was still wearing the clothes Liz and Patty made him wear. He pouted when he remembered that those evil girls made him wear it ~and the swimsuit which earned another groan~ but then his memories caught up to when he and Tsubaki were sitting down on the beach. He remembered how they sat there talking, laughing, hugging; and at first, the memories filled him with a long overdue sense of happiness.

When his memory caught up to the kiss however, everything he felt was replaced by a deep shyness and confusion as the full realization of what happened hit him. Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, one of the most gorgeous and popular girls in the Academy had kissed him; kissed_ HIM_! Crona Gorgon, one of the most ~at least in his self-loathing filled mind~ unattractive and despised people in the entire world. And it wasn't just a little peck on the cheek, or a short, curious one on the lips, it was a full blown _Kiss_.

He didn't understand _how_ it had happened either. All he had done was complement her, tell her she was pretty, so why did she kiss him that way? Is that what normally happened with couples? He thought back to when he saw the rest of the gang with their boy and girlfriends, but from what he could remember seeing, most of the time they kissed each other just to _do_ it. So how was he supposed to know if he'd done something right so he could do it again?

_"… Again?" _he thought, not realizing what had gone through his head at first_ "wait, did I just think that?"_ he shifted around under the sheets with some embarrassment _"oh no, am I becoming a pervert?"_ he thought with sudden fear as his eyes started darting around _"that can't happen! I don't know how to handle being one of those-"_

_ "Oh will you just shut up!"_ Ragnarok snapped mentally out of nowhere _"god damn it Crona, seriously? You just had to wake me up with your paranoid crap didn't you?"_ the boy felt a sharp jab in his gut _"you need to stop freaking out about stuff like that, it's really starting to piss me off!"_

_ "But Ragnarok-"_

"_No! No buts!" _he snapped _"what you're thinking about right now is what perfectly __**normal**__ people think about when they're dating someone!_ _Christ! So just get over it already."_

_"But Ragnarok, I don't think I can handle thinking things like that"_ Crona whined in his head.

"_Well you'd better learn to then, won't you?"_ Ragnarok asked with a voice that held no compromise_ "and besides I'd think you'd want to get used to it after last night."_

Crona frowned _"wh… why would I want to do that?"_

"_Seriously?" _Ragnarok sounded dumbfounded_ "Crona, you were the best I've ever seen last night! I never thought that you could be that happy and relaxed! Not in a million years!" _Crona felt Ragnarok cross his arms in spleen, causing a bit of a cramp in the boy's stomach _"and if a kiss was all it took to make you normal for once, then this chick needs to do that a whole lot more; so thinking the way you are is perfectly fine in my eyes if it gets you like __**that**__ again."_

Crona rubbed his stomach, trying to get rid of the cramp, but he could barely feel it compared to the burning in his face thanks to Ragnarok's comment about the kiss; so much for nothing ruining his morning. When he had calmed down some, he thought back to last night and kept on wondering why she had done that to him. She was always telling him to stop thinking like that ~questioning every good thing that ever happens to him~ but he couldn't help it! He just couldn't understand why she had kissed _him_ of all people like that. He wasn't anything special, there wasn't anything unique about him; he was basically just a scared little kid who doesn't know how to deal with anything.

Ragnarok chuckled at Crona's current thoughts _"hey, who knows, maybe Tsubaki's into stuff like that; messing around with kids-"_

_"Ragnarok!"_ Crona whined _"cut it out!"_ he didn't really understand what Ragnarok was saying, but it sounded like he was saying Tsubaki was dirty or something so he didn't want to hear it.

The little demon just laughed at Crona's sudden outburst _"alright, alright, cool your jets"_ the boy felt him diving back to wherever he went when he wanted to be by himself _"gotta say though, with a body like that, you'd better hope she's into-"_

_"__**Ragnarok!**__" that_ he understood_ "stop it! That's dirty and I don't know how to deal with you saying dirty things like that!"_ he just got the demon's laughter in response and then there was silence.

He was feeling so confused and incredibly embarrassed about all of this, why did Ragnarok always have to make perverted comments like that, talking about Tsubaki's body, he knew that she hated it when people did that. And what did Ragnarok mean about Crona hoping she was into kids? What did that even mean? He kept wondering about his partners comments ~completely missing the implications with his innocently naïve mind~ but then his attention shifted when he felt the bed move under him. He was about to turn around and see what Tsubaki was doing, but before he could, he felt something wrap around him and he tensed up when he felt Tsubaki's chest press up against his back. She was hugging him again.

He tried moving to see if he could wiggle out without waking her, but after failing to free himself he reached up to gently pry her arms off. He was just about to touch her hands, but before he could she nuzzled into his neck _"… Crona"_ he froze. Did he just hear that right?

He looked back at her again just to see her still asleep with that little smile on her face, along with a faint blush now for some reason, and he began wondering what she was dreaming about. He then began blushing even deeper when he realized that he was involved with her dream because she had said _his_ name. No… no he had to be just jumping to conclusion; so she said his name, that didn't mean anything right? He couldn't possibly have anything to do with what's going on in Tsubaki's head… right?

"_Yeah, I'm just jumping to conclusions, why would someone like Tsubaki ever dream anything about me?" _he was probably never going to stop thinking that way about himself, or at least not for a very long time_ "still… I wonder what she __**is**__ thinking about…"_ he wondered curiously.

And after a minute full of idea after idea swimming through Crona's mind he eventually gave up his efforts of trying to figure out what she was dreaming about and then moved to gently pry Tsubaki's arms off _"I don't want to be an inconvenience; I couldn't deal with myself if I wasted Tsubaki's time…"_ but right before he touched her, his hands froze when he thought about this situation_ "wait… what am I doing?" _he thought as his hands hovered over Tsubaki's.

She was always telling him that she didn't mind hugging him, or helping him out with things, and after this long he slowly began believing her. And besides, this was something couples did right? Couples hugged each other, kissed, and made each other feel wanted; at least that's what he thought. He then looked down at Tsubaki's hands and his hovering over them, just waiting to take them away and a new thought was all that filled his mind: _What the hell was he doing?_

For his entire life, Crona had been deprived of the one thing that every person in the world needed: human contact. His mother hadn't cared about him, and after everything she made him do, nearly every person in the academy downright hated him. And now here he was, lying in a bed with a girl ~which he cared about deeply~ who cared about him _and was hugging him for_ _crying_ _out_ _loud_ and here he was thinking about pulling her off.

_"Tsubaki's right"_ Crona breathed out, feeling like he was the biggest idiot on the planet _"I really am a dummy."_

_"Wait what! What are you talking about!" _Ragnarok snapped back up out of nowhere_ "I've been calling you a dumbass for years now! How come __**she's**__ suddenly right after one time?"_ he demanded.

Crona ignored the newest rant Ragnarok had started up ~and the sharp pain in his stomach that followed it~ and he looked back down at Tsubaki's hands. She always said that she didn't mind right? And Crona really didn't want to take her off; he always felt wonderful whenever she hugged him- heck, he felt great whenever she was _around_ him.

"_It's not like what I'm doing is bad right?"_ he thought, noting with enjoyment how warm he felt with her holding him_ "what could be so bad about enjoying something like this? It's normal for couples after all right?"_ he wondered to himself even though it was just a guess _"Tsubaki's been telling me that I deserve to be a little selfish every now and then… I guess now would be okay wouldn't it?"_ he reasoned _"after all, she started it by hugging me."_

And so after another minute of debating whether or not to do it, he finally decided to go with it and when he rested his hands over Tsubaki's and felt that soft skin against his he instantly knew it was a good move as he closed his eyes with a happy smile on his face while Ragnarok gave up and dived back to go to sleep. That tingly feeling in Crona's chest was back, the one he had felt right before Tsubaki had kissed him. He let out a content sigh as he slowly drifted back towards sleep; he liked this feeling, and the fact that Tsubaki spent so much time trying to make him feel like this made him feel even better.

He felt even _better_ because of the way she had acted last night, because _he_ was the one who made her feel like that; and just knowing that filled him with so much pride and happiness that his friends wouldn't believe it unless he told them himself. Because she had said it herself: no other boy had ever made her feel anything, but _he_ did. H_e_ had made her happy and she had trusted _him_ enough to let him close enough to try and make her feel the way she had. She trusted him with her feeling and he trusted her the same way… she cared about him, and wanted to make him happy… wanted to make him feel cared for…

And with that last positive thought in his head, he was out like a light and soon began dreaming about last night with him and Tsubaki lying down on the beach, leading up to that point with the kiss. It was by far the best dream he had had in a very, _very_ long time.

…

A few hours later Tsubaki woke up to the smell of something fresh and slightly fruity. She opened her eyes curiously and found herself gazing into something pink, and it was only a few seconds later that she had realized happily what it was in front of her: Crona's hair.

_"Wow"_ she thought with some wonder _"he uses scented conditioner for his hair?"_ she took a small breath and smiled with a silent giggle when she recognized the scent _"strawberries, of course"_ she leaned in and took another breath _"huh, that's weird, I would have thought something like that would have worn off around last night…"_

_Last_ _night_… Tsubaki smiled to herself thinking about that. Crona had felt absolutely amazing, so soft, so sweet. That kiss was by far the best thing she had experienced in an incredibly long time, and she hoped that it was the same for Crona, god knew he needed something like that. When she thought about it a little more however, her smile went a little crooked as she wondered how he was feeling about that little incident. Her happiness began to deflate and was soon replaced by a growing sense of dread because she wondered how confused Crona must be feeling about all of this; she had practically forced herself onto him after all and he probably had no idea how to deal with something like that.

As she thought about this she shifted around in the bed, quickly feeling horrible with herself, and through that shifting she eventually noticed that she was hugging the boy. Oh dear, she must have done that in her sleep; she hoped she hadn't woken him up. Ohhh, now she felt even _worse_, who knows how much she's inconvenienced him by now. She was feeling just awful now; the last thing she'd ever want to do is something that made Crona feel even remotely embarrassed or uncomfortable.

She looked down at him as he slept and noticed with some relief that he at least looked comfortable, and he had a sweet little smile on his lips. She then went to try and move without waking him up, but then she noticed that she couldn't move her arms and soon saw the reason why. Crona was holding her arms against his chest.

Seeing that, she couldn't repress another smile _"oh, he's so adorable"_ she leaned in and kissed the back of his head as she gently hugged him a little tighter, earning a happy noise from the boy which sent little Goosebumps throughout her skin as he pressed her arms up against him more. He was just so _cute_!

She kissed the back of his head once again and then began looking around the room to see how late it was in the morning, maybe she could stay here for just a couple more minutes. She looked around and saw that there was quite a bit of light coming in from behind the curtains and then she noticed the clock next to her, and seeing the time caused a little ripple of disappointment.

She really didn't want to let go of him, but she needed to start getting around to waking up; she had a little plan for Crona this morning and wanted to get on it as soon as possible. After last night when she was still on her happy-high from the kiss she had planned to make Crona something special the next morning, a bit of a "thank you" for yesterday since he had made her feel so great, and even after her mind relaxed as she put Crona in the bed and started changing to go to sleep, she decided to go through with it.

She checked to make sure he was still sound asleep in the bed and then gently tried to slide her arms out from under his, but he resisted at first and made a sad sound that made her feel bad again. She saw how sad he looked as he slept and then leaned in and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek which immediately got a positive response that made her happy. He slowly smiled again with an unconsciously content sigh as she kissed him and his arms relaxed, letting her slip hers out freely.

She carefully got of the bed and made sure to put the blankets back over him without waking him and when she was done she just stood there and watched for a minute as curled up a bit under the covers _"I'll wake him up later"_ she thought, reaching out and gently running her fingers over his soft hair before kissing his cheek and going to the large room's kitchen. She checked the fridge and felt some surprise when she saw there was a bag of strawberries and a container of whipped cream and she smiled when she found some pancake mix too in the cupboard _"wow, this place is stocked up nicely"_ and she felt great knowing she would put it all to good use _"at least I can do something to make Crona happy, he probably needs it a lot"_ she thought, wondering what level of confused embarrassment he was going through because of what she did.

She pulled out all of the things she needed, trying to push back her current thoughts of how she probably messed with Crona's head, but she quickly replaced them with more positive thoughts of how she would make his morning wonderful _"at least I hope I do"_ she thought, taking another peek at Crona as he slept _"he definitely deserves it"_ and then she got to work.

'~~~'

Crona's senses slowly began coming back as he woke and the first thing he smelled was something good. He stirred in the bed and when he opened his eyes he saw that Tsubaki was gone but then he heard things clinking around in the room's kitchen; looked like she was cooking something. He rubbed his head as he woke up more and the first thing he felt was worry; so much for not fretting about the day. He looked towards the kitchen, towards Tsubaki, and he was trying to think of what to do: did he just walk over to her and thank her for yesterday? Did he try and complement her like he did last night to try and get another kiss?

Everything he thought of just filled him with doubt, or embarrassment, and sometimes a whole lot of both, and finally he decided that he'd just try to keep quiet, at least then he wouldn't do or say something stupid and ruin everything. He then stiffly got out of the bed, taking another worried glance towards the kitchen, and then he picked out one of his robes and quickly headed towards the bathroom; he wanted to get out of his current clothes as quickly as possible. He was utterly silent as he walked to the room's bathroom, not wanting to mess Tsubaki up with whatever she was making for herself; that definitely wouldn't help his situation.

Once the door clicked however Tsubaki nearly jumped before she turned towards it as she poured the batter onto the pan "Crona? Is that you?"

He tensed up hearing her, and managed to keep his voice from shaking when he responded "… yes… y-yes, I-it's me" he answered quietly, feeling worried again "sorry if I distracted you" he added quickly because he really was.

She smiled to herself, turning back to the pan "oh, don't worry about it, you haven't done anything wrong."

"Oh… o-ok then" he popped his head through the hole of his robe and reached for the buttons at his neck, already feeling better thanks to the familiar feeling of the dark cloth but still feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

And Tsubaki could practically feel his discomfort through the door "really Crona, you're alright, nothing's wrong" she insisted.

He finished clipping the cuffs on his wrists then took a breath "yeah" he opened the door and walked out, rubbing his arm as Tsubaki finished the first batch of her pancakes "uhh, tho… t-those look good" he said, before yelling at himself in his head as he sat down on the room's couch _"what are you doing! I thought we decided not to talk first!"_

She smiled again though "really? Well I'm glad you think so, hopefully you'll think they taste even better."

He looked back at her and frowned, cutting off his argument with himself "huh?"

She glanced back at him with her own confusion as her hands stalled "you… you thought I didn't make you any?"

Well! Didn't he feel surprised right now! "No, n-no I didn't" he shook his head recovering from his surprise "no one's… no one's ever done something like that for me before" he looked at the growing plate of pancakes "you mean you actually made some for _me_?"

She smiled again with a nod and a shrug "well of course I did" she put the second ~also the last, and biggest~ batch of pancakes on a new plate then shut off the stove "you're my friend Crona, not to mention my boyfriend" she added earning a quick, small smile from Crona "so what kind of person would I be if I neglected you like that?" she smiled, looking back down at the plate to add the last things to his pancakes.

And while Crona watched her work he noticed that she was cutting up strawberries and putting them on only one batch of the pancakes, and that's when he finally realized it. She didn't just make some pancakes for them both; she had made that for _him_.

"Alright Crona" she walked over to the coffee-table in front of him and set the plates down "I hope you enjoy it" she sat down on the couch next to him and handed him a fork.

Crona looked down at the fork in his hand as Tsubaki cut into the first of her plate's worth and he couldn't help but feel anything but surprise. He wasn't a stranger to Tsubaki's cooking, she had made it plenty of times before when the he and the gang got together, but this was different. She had gone to the trouble of making something for _him_ specifically.

He poked at one of the strawberries on top of the stack thinking about this and eventually picked it up with a piece of the pancake. It tasted wonderful. More then wonderful, it was absolutely _perfect_! He glanced over at Tsubaki as she ate and couldn't stop himself from staring at her. She was just so _nice_ to him all the time. She was the most caring person he'd ever met besides Maka.

And as he thought about this Tsubaki was getting the feeling that she was being watched and when she glanced to the side Crona's head snapped back down to his plate. She had that horrible feeling in the pit of her stomach again. He was uncomfortable, no doubt scared out of his mind that he'll do something wrong, and it's all because she forced herself on him last night.

Tsubaki lowered her fork then turned over to face him "hey Crona?"

He tensed, and shakily turned to face her "y-yes?"

She could see the worry in his eyes and her look saddened "about yesterday I'm… I'm sorry about what I did."

His own look saddened at this and then his shoulders sagged a fraction "oh… well then…" she regretted kissing him? Well it's not like he could say he was surprised. Why would anyone in their right mind want to kiss someone like him?

As if hearing his thoughts just from his sad look she reached out and put her hand on his back "I'm not sorry about the kiss, no that's not what I'm saying at all."

He looked up with a frown "huh?" then what was it?

She smiled at him then turned her head a bit "I'm sorry about the way I did it, forcing myself on you the way I did" she pulled her hand back and rubbed them together over her lap "I just couldn't stop myself, and now you're feeling scared because you have no idea what to do."

He rubbed his arm as he turned to the side, how was it she could read him so easily like a that? "I-I'm sorry, I-I-I just-"

"Don't know how to deal with it?" she said in sync with him and he blushed a bit as she smiled "I know Crona, and that's why I'm apologizing" she reached out and patted him on his back softly "it wasn't right for me to go ahead and do that without asking you first" she smiled at him more then pulled him into a warm hug "I'm here to help you, not make you feel worse, so from now on I'll take things slower with you" he smiled at first but then felt her arms go a little limp as she thought about something and she slowly let go of him and backed up looking somewhat sad "that is… that is if you still want me stay after that."

Crona's eyes widened and he waved his hands frantically "w-what? No! Y-y-you didn't do anything wrong, so why would I think about something like that?" he noticed how he sounded and he put his hands down with embarrassment as Tsubaki stared at him with shock. He had just snapped at her "I… I-I'm sorry, I-I-I just don't want to be alone again."

Tsubaki recovered from her shock and shook her head "no, it's ok Crona, really, I would never leave unless you wanted me to" she pulled him into a comforting hug and he hugged her back tightly, and she noticed how bad he was shaking; he really was scared of being alone "I'm sorry for scaring you" she rubbed his back, but he kept shaking into her _"oh look at what you went and did now!"_ she chastised herself _"you terrified him you idiot"_ she backed up and lifted his chin so they were eye to eye "it's alright Crona, I'm not going to leave, I would never do that to you" she kissed his forehead.

"T-thank you" he whimpered, his arm tightening around her waist as she looked down at him "thank you so much."

She saw how pale he was and her look saddened even more before she came to a decision "hey Crona?"

Y-yes?"

"Remember… remember what I said about asking you first about things?" she smiled as he nodded shakily "well… is it alright if I kiss you again?"

He froze completely and stared at her with surprise "huh?"

She shrugged a bit and looked over to the side "you were great after what we did last night; you were so calm and happy…"

_"See?"_ Ragnarok popped up again for a moment _"I told you."_

"So I was just thinking… maybe a kiss would help you now" Tsubaki continued with a small blush.

"You'd… y-you mean you'd really do that?" by now Crona's shaking had faded away a good deal, he could barely notice it anymore.

Tsubaki frowned at the question "well we are a couple, so kissing is going to be kind of normal for us… I guess" she didn't know since this was actually her first time being so close to someone, she'd never done it until now "and the fact that it helps you out is just a really nice bonus."

Crona's eyes shifted around and he finally released Tsubaki's waist as he squirmed on the couch, he didn't know how to deal with a question like this. Nobody had ever asked him something like that, _ever_ "w-well, I-I-I don't know" he looked off to the side while fiddling with his hands "I mean y-you don't have to do that if you don't want to, y-you don't always have to help-"

"It's not just because I want to help you Crona" Tsubaki slid her arms underneath his and hugged him again "I care about you, and… and I really want to have that feeling I had last night" she backed up but left her arms wrapped around him "I know that sounds selfish, but I really do want to do that again… and helping you just makes me want to do it more."

She was inches in front of Crona's face right now and he looked down "do you really mean that?"

She smiled and rubbed his back gently "of course I do, why would I lie about caring for you?"

He was silent for a while after that but finally he looked up at her, if not somewhat anxiously "Tsubaki… I-is it… can I…" he was having trouble keeping himself from looking away again. He just felt so strange asking the question he wanted to say.

She smiled at him as she pulled one of her hands back and gently took his chin again, stopping his shaking "it's alright Crona, you can ask whatever you want."

He looked into her eyes and could tell she was telling the truth. He stared for one moment longer then with a deep breath he jammed his eyes shut "_isitalrightifIkissyou_!" he blurted out quickly.

Tsubaki's pulled her hand back in surprise "what?" did she hear that right?

Crona looked off to the side as she stared at him "is it… is it alright if I… k-kiss _you_?"

"You mean… you want to take the lead?" there was that happy feeling again. He was using up so much of his courage just to ask that question, and he was asking _her_.

He slowly nodded "I-I-I just… just want to… t-to know what it feels like to kiss someone… I-instead of being kissed."

Tsubaki smiled at him softly as her face heated up a fraction "you really want to do that?" he nodded shyly and she smiled softly "well okay then, if it's what you want then I'm perfectly fine with it."

And as she backed up and closed her eyes Crona just stared at her. She was really going to let him do it? And she wanted to do it too, so that just made him even more confused. What was it about him that made Tsubaki this way? He wasn't strong, he wasn't that smart, he definitely wasn't popular, so what was it that made Tsubaki go out of her way to make him so happy, to make him feel so wanted?

He looked down at her lips and his face heated up significantly as she remained there with a small smile. He shook somewhat at the prospect of actually _kissing_ someone himself but ever so slightly he crept forward. He was right in front of her, his lips a hair's width away from hers but then he just stopped there. He was so close so why was he stopping!

The answer was simple~ at least to him anyway~: what if he messed up? That question popped into his head right at that moment and he just froze up because he actually began worrying. What if he messed this up? What if he did it wrong and made her feel uncomfortable? What if accidently hurt her somehow? What if? _What if? __**What if?**_

And after a whole minute of nothing happening, Tsubaki opened up her eyes to see that Crona had backed up looking very frustrated "Crona? Is something the matter?" her face showed her worry, had she done something wrong?"

He just looked off to the side though "I-I'm sorry, I just… I can't do it" his head bowed shamefully, he wanted Mr. Corner so badly right now "I must look like such an idiot-"

"No you don't" Tsubaki cut him off calmly "to me you look like a shy boy who's never done something like this before and is afraid he'll mess up" she smiled and put her hand over his own "it's alright Crona, it's like I said before, we'll take things slow from now on" she leaned in and gave him a quick peck on lips. When she backed away she saw how red he had gotten and she gave his hand a squeeze as her smile grew _"so cute!"_

His free hand had shot up to his face and had covered his mouth as he turned to the side, looking really embarrassed now "… Tsubaki?"

She ran her thumb over his hand as she smiled at him "yes?"

"C-can we… d-do that again?" his eyes were off towards the corner of the room "just… l-longer this time?"

Her smile grew again "I don't see why not" she let go of his hand and both her arms went over his shoulders as she sat on his lap, her knees touching his sides. Crona's face was practically an inferno as their foreheads touched "it's alright Crona, you have nothing to be embarrassed about" she then closed her eyes and leaned in.

There it was again, that wonderful feeling in the pits of their bellies: that warm, tingly feeling as their lips met. Crona's cautiously put his arms around Tsubaki's waist, and when he saw that she was fine with it he closed his own eyes and hugged her close. They sat their for a little while, just enjoying the way each other felt, and enjoying the flavors that flooded through their mouths as the kiss steadily deepened until finally they had to come up for air.

The two of them took deep breaths, recovering from the lack of air but Crona finally found enough to speak "that… that was nice" he actually smiled with calm that Tsubaki never would have believed he could have.

But he was doing it and she smiled right back "you feel any better?" he nodded and she rested her head into his shoulder "that's good" she smiled into his robe as he rested the side of his head in her hair.

They sat there for a while longer, just holding each other, until Tsubaki moved to get up and clean up the table, but Crona held her in place "hey Tsubaki?" she hummed into his shoulder "is it okay if we just stay like this for a little longer?"

She turned her head and focused on the clock. She saw that they still had about an hour left until the rest of the gang got up and met in the lobby. She smiled again and leaned back into his shoulder "that's perfectly alright with me."

_"This is nice"_ they thought in unison as the minutes began passing by _"she's so nice to me"_ Crona thought, his arms tightening around her waist _"she's amazing."_

_"He's so sweet and gentle with me"_ Tsubaki thought as her arms did the same over his shoulder _"he's wonderful."_

And as the two sat there, thinking along the same lines they both eventually thought about the same thing. They both thought back to the day this all started between them, the party. They both smiled at the same time as the same thought went through them at the same time: _"I need to remember to thank Liz again."_

* * *

_**Alright, just a nice little cheesy, fluffy filler chapter before the finale. Yep that's right, after this chapter, this part of the story is over. Now, you guys and girls may be wondering why I didn't just make the final chapter just one huge one, and my answer is kind of dumb: I just wanted to get a nice round number like eight. **_

_**Yeah, I know, I know, it's stupid and all, but I just felt like doing it so there, nothing to do about it. Next up, just what I'm going to be doing after I finish up Part 1 of this story.**_

_**After part 1 is finished, I'm going to work on the next chapter of **__**Soul Eater Vs The Supernatural**__** and explain the situation for that story after its next chapter, then I'm going to move onto my Ouran Highschool Host Club crossover **__**The Shy, Submissive Type**__** and work on that story exclusively, then I'll work on my Nightmare Before Christmas crossover **__**Happy Horrible Birthday**__**. Go ahead and check these out if you're interested in that kind of anime or movie.**_

_** So, as always, tell me if you guys liked the chapter and go ahead and tell me what you think about the stories I'll be working on after this is all finished with.**_

_** SDL out.**_

_**UPDATE ON THREE LITTLE WORDS PART 2. I'm really happy to see so many people asking for a sequel, and so what's going to be happening with the story is that I'm going to be finishing my Ouran crossover story, then I'm going to work a bit on my Nightmare before Halloween crossover story. So it's going to be a while before the next part of this story comes out, and now I just ask you guys to be patient until that time.**_


	8. Three Little Words

_** Alright guys, here we are, final chapter. Yay me! I've finally finished a story… sort of… oh well, just wanted to take this time to thank those of you who have stayed with this story for the ride. So yeah, thanks a bunch. **_

_**I've got a nice big chapter for all of you, and I really hope it makes for a good finale for the first part of this story of mine.**_

_** You guys are all great! Now go ahead and enjoy the final chapter you wonderful bastards.**_

* * *

The time Kid and the others agreed on was around noon so the sun was up and brightening the large lobby as Tsubaki and Crona looked around for their friends. After the two of them finally let go of each other on the couch, Tsubaki suggested that Crona change into something more comfortable then the robe he was in, so now he was walking next to her in a long grey sweater and black jeans while she wore pretty much the same outfit from last night, only with a pink turtle-neck this time.

They looked around the lobby with increasing confusion as they came out of the hall they were just in and they couldn't find their group anywhere. There were a couple dozen people in the giant lobby at the moment so it's not like their group would be hard to spot but they couldn't see hide-nor-tail of their friends. They were just about to give up looking in the lobby and go outside to search for them when they caught a brief glimpse of white over on one side of the fish tank and then the person attached to it began waving at them.

"Hey there, morning you two!" Soul called waving Tsubaki and Crona over to the other side of the giant fish-tank.

Tsubaki smiled in their direction "oh there they are, I was starting to get worried" she reached down and grabbed Crona's hand "come on let's go" she gave him a gentle tug and he followed. He looked down at Tsubaki's hand and couldn't help but squeeze it and Tsubaki smiled back at him as he did it and soon he began smiling too as she looked back in their friends direction "we were wondering where you all were!" she called back to them as Crona continued to stare and smile, he just couldn't stop himself.

As the two closed in on the others Maka noticed that they were holding hands and she also saw the calm, happy smile on Crona's face and she raised an eyebrow "morning guys" she turned to Crona and he still had the smile on his face "you feeling happy today Crona?"

When she spoke to him he seemed to come out of a daze with a twitch in her direction, he'd been staring at Tsubaki the entire time "o-oh, w-what?" the smile was gone and was now replaced by a blush, he had completely ignored her.

Maka chuckled at his reaction "I asked if you were feeling happy today, you had a grin on your face just a second ago."

"Oh, r-really?" he seemed a little surprised by that "I-I'm Sorry, I-I guess I'm just a little out of it this morning" he rubbed the back of his head but then Maka explained to him that being happy in the morning was nothing to be sorry about. When she finished she asked him the same question again, and he glanced over at Tsubaki as she smiled at him "… yes… yes, I-I am feeling happy today" he said, smiling right back, leaving Maka to smile and wonder what had happened between them after she and the others had left them alone last night "s-so uhh, h-how come we're out here today?" Crona asked looking around at the others.

He saw that they were all dressed in their lounge clothes and Kid was currently straightening up the collar of his shirt "don't you remember what I told you about the vacation we were having here?" he asked with a smile as Crona grimaced and looked off to the side, he _had_ forgotten "I told you that they have a spa plan here at the resort too, and we're planning on using it today" he shrugged then "or at least some of it anyway."

Liz nodded her head with a grin as her sister laughed and hopped up a bit "yeah! It's about time we did something like this" she stretched her arms up until something popped "ohhh man, after all the crap we've had to put up with at the Academy lately, what we've got planned for today is just what the doctor ordered."

Crona frowned a bit as the others nodded and chuckled along with the elder sister, "um… I-I'm really sorry for asking but… spa?" that was an odd word.

And once again on this trip Soul's eye twitched with amazed shock, but he masked it by crossing his arms and raising an eyebrow "let me guess, you don't know what a spa is, do you?"

The boy just rubbed his arm with embarrassment in response while Tsubaki patted his head with a laugh "it's alright Crona, a spa is just a place where people go to relax and tweak a few things, I'm pretty sure that it's something I think you'll enjoy a lot" she smiled at him and he slowly nodded. He'd been really stressed out as of late ~though that wasn't anything new~ and relaxing sounded really good right now.

"Well before we actually go to the spa, do you guys want to hit the hot springs next door first?" Black Star asked, as loud as ever as he nudged Crona a little forcefully in the shoulder, causing the boy to stumble a bit.

Kid on the other hand just kept smiling at them "yeah, that sounds good" he looked over at Crona "does that sound alright with you?" he seemed really happy for some reason today, Crona noticed, usually he would've snapped at Black Star about being a pest or something.

Crona rubbed the back of his head as he regained his balance "uhh, s-sure?" he'd heard somewhat about hot springs, but only that they're very relaxing, the rest of the details he never leaned about "y-yeah, that sounds nice… I guess."

"Well I'm feeling like getting a massage right now, how about you girls?" Maka looked around and the others nodded "then it's settled, we'll see you later guys" she turned with a wave and the boys nodded as the group preceded to split apart, all except for Crona and Tsubaki.

He was still next to his girlfriend, debating whether or not to do what he was thinking of doing and she soon frowned at him "is something the matter?" the other girls turned and stared curiously but the boys didn't hear the question and kept on going.

He looked back at he boys just once and then closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Before Tsubaki could ask him what was wrong he leaned in and kissed her cheek before snapping to face towards the backs of the other boys _"see you later!"_ he squeaked out and with that he quickly jogged after them ~his face burning as he did so~ leaving Tsubaki holding her cheek with a surprised look as the other girls gawked at her.

"… Did… did I just see that right?" Maka reached up and thoroughly rubbed her eyes before looking again "did _Crona_ really just do that?"

Tsubaki nodded slowly, still clutching her cheek before a smile crept onto her lips "I guess he's finally getting used to things with me" she mumbled before turning to face the other dumbstruck girls and she kept on smiling "well come on everyone, lets go, we don't want a line ahead of us do we?"

"Whoa-whoa-whoa, hang on a second!" Liz walked over and gripped Tsubaki's shoulders, stopping the girl before she could start moving "do you not realize what just happened?"

Tsubaki frowned at her "I don't understand, he just kissed my cheek-"

"Exactly!" she cut her off and looked over Tsubaki's shoulder to see Crona's retreating form "_Crona_ kissed _you._"

Tsubaki nodded "yeah, I know" she then smiled and looked back at Crona just as he turned the corner with the other boys "it just means he's getting more confidence is all" she laughed a bit "I'm proud of him."

"But-"

"Hey sis?" Liz turned to her sister a repressed a squeak when she saw Patty's serious face was on "can we please go to the massage parlor now? I'm starting to get bored."

Liz slowly nodded then quickly said "okay, yeah, I like that idea, how about we do that?" she then turned towards the hallway as Patty smiled and winked over at Tsubaki.

And when they all began moving down the same hall a certain cat-girl slid over next to Tsubaki and grinned at her "so, what happened last night between you and Crona, I know something had to of happened?"

Tsubaki frowned again "what?"

"What? Happened? Last? Night?" she poked Tsubaki's shoulder, emphasizing each word with a poke and a grin "I know how your little sword-boy works, so something good must have happened for him to be _that_ happy today, so what happened?"

Tsubaki looked around trying to ignore her "ohhh, nothing much…"

Blair eyed her curiously before her eyes glinted mischievously as she leaned next to the girl's ear _"did you kiss him?"_ Tsubaki's twitch was all the answer Blair needed and she hopped up a couple times with a laugh "oh you did! You did! I knew it!" she then ran up to Patty and with a poof of smoke she hopped onto the top of the girl's head in her cat form "you owe me twenty pieces of fish giraffe-girl! I was right!" she laughed as the young sister looked up her and then pouted.

"Aww man, I really wanted to win that giraffe" she mumbled, still pouting.

And while all of that was happening Maka slowed down so that she was next to Tsubaki as Liz glanced back at her sister and Blair with a confused frown "what was that all about?"

Tsubaki sighed "well, seeing as how Blair's no doubt going to be gloating about it later…" her lips curved up a fraction into a small smile as she looked down at the floor "I… kind of kissed Crona last night."

Maka's eyebrows went up in surprise "really?" when Tsubaki's smile grew she smiled herself and gently punched her shoulder as the older girl laughed "well no wonder he seemed so happy today" she laughed along with her "good for you two, I'm happy for you."

Tsubaki nodded "yeah" she looked down at the floor as they walked "he seems to be getting a little better with dealing with things since last night."

"I can only wonder why" Maka smiled softly. They seemed good for each other, Crona and Tsubaki; she was always so nice, and patient, while Crona was equally gentle and kind; they fit together well. She smiled more thinking about this, but then her face took on a more mischievous look like Blair's when she thought of something else "sooo… how was he?"

Tsubaki twitched again and looked at her friend with a nervous frown "huh?"

Maka shrugged with a smirk "I'm just curious is all, seeing as how Crona's such a timid kid, I'm wondering if he was any good at kissing."

Tsubaki stared at her without blinking, then slowly began shaking her head "you… you can't be serious."

Maka leaned in and poked Tsubaki's side "come on, tell me."

Tsubaki squirmed, biting back a laugh as Maka continued poking her side and then sped up trying to distance herself from the smaller girl "cut it out Maka" she whined.

"Tell me, tell me, tell me" Maka just sped up with her, poking her more until they passed the other girls who watched them with confusion as they raced ahead "come on, you know you're going to end up telling me anyway!" she called with a laugh as Tsubaki broke away from her by a few feet "I will eventually break you!" she laughed and turned the corner to chase after her friend.

'~~~'

Crona caught up with the other boys within a minute, but he didn't really notice, he was currently thinking about what the hell he had just done a minute ago. He kissed Tsubaki's cheek. _HE_ kissed _HER_ cheek! What was he thinking! How could he do something like that to Tsubaki! Oh, he hoped that she didn't dislike him for doing that, he hoped and prayed to everything that that isn't what she thought.

_"Hey, I don't see what you're all freaked out about"_ Ragnarok said mentally "_I mean, you kissed her cheek, big deal"_ he felt Ragnarok shrug inside him_ "and while that sure as hell surprised me and the flower-chick, I'm pretty sure she's happy about it."_

_"You really think so?"_ Crona tilted his head and looked at his back.

He felt something happen in his back that he could only guess was another shrug from his partner _"look, you know how I like to bust your balls about all kinds of crap…"_ Crona grimaced; yeah, he knew that all too well _"but this, you and the flower-chick, that's something I know I shouldn't joke about"_ Crona felt a quick jolt in his back and then he felt a tiny hand on his shoulder _"so yeah, I really think you're ok with her."_

Crona glanced at the hand on his shoulder and smiled _"hey Ragnarok?"_ he got a grunt in reply _"… thanks"_ the hand twitched back.

Ragnarok was silent for half a minute before with a _"tch"_ he punched the back Crona's head _"now don't you go getting the wrong idea you little brat! I'm just telling it like it is"_ the arm slid back into Crona's back and the boy heard Ragnarok muttering to himself as he dived down _"freakin' dumbass little kid, actually thinking I care about his stupid relationship…"_

Crona rubbed the back of his head listening to Ragnarok's fading muttering but instead of a pained expression on the boy's face there was currently a small, thankful smile on his lips. Sure, his partner Ragnarok was a loud, bossy, abusive, disrespectful, annoying, jerk … but still, he was like an older brother to Crona, and he had his moments.

After a few more minutes of walking the boys eventually moved outside of the main building and were making their way towards a nearby forested area about half a block away from the resort. As they closed in on the first of the trees Crona saw the outline of a large wooden fence that surrounded a large building a bit deeper in the tree-line. When they were a few meters from the fence Crona saw that there was a suited person standing at the gate who, after seeing them, waved them through and then locked it behind them.

Kid glanced back at the other boys with a grin as they looked around the tree-lined path "just a little heads up guys, I went ahead and rented out the entire thing for us today, so we wouldn't have to waste any time waiting."

Soul raised an eyebrow as Black Star and Crona kept looking around, Black Star's look filled with approval and Crona's filled with awe at the sheer size of this place "how'd you manage that?"

Kid shrugged with a grin "being a Reaper has its perks."

Crona looked around the area and saw a large building through the trees surrounding the path they were on and as they closed in he noticed that it was getting more humid as they went on and soon began frowning "um, s-so what exactly do we do at a hot-spring?" he asked as they stepped into the building. Was it like a steam bath or something like that? He was just about to ask one of the others but then the second after they entered Soul began taking his shirt off and Crona twitched "w-w-what are you doing?"

After the shirt was off and balled up in his hand Soul moved towards a partially opened door "these kind of places usually have a pretty easy procedure and since, thanks to Kid, we have the entire place to ourselves it's even easier" Soul slid the door shut as Black Star and Kid moved to their own rooms already taking off their shirts "so, seeing as how everything's easier all you gotta do is just strip down, grab a towel from inside whatever room you pick and go enjoy the springs."

Crona's face paled more and more as he tried understanding this "w-wait you… y-y-you mean we have to do this _naked_?" he began shaking his head "no… n-no, no, _no_! I-I can't deal with something like that, I-I've never done something like this before, and you're all guys-"

"Crona!" a tiny fist popped out of the boy's back and hit him in the back of the head "calm the hell down okay?" the rest of the little demon came out and he grabbed two chunks of Crona's hair, then tugged his head back so Crona was looking up at him upside down "the damn albino explained it to you perfectly, but it looks like I need to show everything to your dumbass!" he moved Crona like a horse towards a door and opened it to reveal the springs.

Crona looked around and the first things he saw ~or the first thing that block his vision~ was the steam. It was _everywhere_, not mentioning the fact of how thick it all was; he almost couldn't see the water at first. When he could finally see it, he saw that there were about half a dozen big pools of varying size which all attached to each other with tiny steaming rivers and water falls. They were all around the inside of this place and he saw that that was only on _this_ side of the fence that cut down the middle a few feet to his right. He also saw a few sets of stairs leading down to the lower pools.

Crona didn't understand what he was supposed to be seeing here and looked up at his abusive partner with a frown "um… Ragnarok? W-what exactly am I looking for?"

The demon looked down at him incredulously "seriously?!" he then shoved Crona's head to look out again "what the hell was the first thing you saw out here?"

"Um… steam?"

"Exactly! Steam!" he then shoved Crona's head down so he was looking at the water "and now tell me, what do you see about the water?"

Crona looked at it and thought "uh… it's… hot-" Ragnarok hit his head again.

"No! It's not that it's hot you smartass!" he stretched his arm out and dipped his entire hand into the water; Crona couldn't see it under the water "now answer me this: can you see my hand?"

Crona shook his head, feeling embarrassed now because he finally got it "no-" Ragnarok hit him again with the other hand.

"That's right! No!" he retrieved his hand then gestured to the entire hot springs "so don't get all bent out of shape about 'being naked' because the only way these guys are gonna see you is if they're looking, and I doubt they would, and besides…" he crossed his arms and turned his head, giving him a sidelong glance "it's not like you've got anything to be ashamed of, hell if anything you've got bragging rights-" Crona shoved his hands over his partner's mouth, cutting him off. _**(: 3)**_

Crona's face was incredibly red, and it wasn't from the heat "Ragnarok! Cut it out!" he hated it when his partner said things like that, it was weird.

Ragnarok just chuckled though and backed up out of Crona's reached "alright, alright, I'll stop…" he then leaned in and poked Crona's forehead "but only if you go in the springs."

"But why?" Crona was actually whining "how come I have to do this? It's embarrass-"

Ragnarok clamped his hands over Crona's mouth this time "ohhh, just shut up!" he groaned "…ok… ok listen up kid cause I'm about to tell you about how it is for me inside you" he pulled his arms back "I live inside of you, ok? So, let me give you a little insight about how it feels" he grabbed Crona's arm and squeezed, hard, earning a wince from the boy "you see how that feels? Now imagine that for your entire body" he let go and crossed his arms again "that's what it feels like for me whenever you're tense and FYI" he slapped the back of Crona's head _"you! Are! Al-ways! Tense!"_ he yelled into his ear and then he got right into his face "and this stupid hot spring thing is supposed to help people relax, so god damn it, you are going to get in there and you are going to relax! _Do you understand me?!"_

Crona was shaking as he stared into his partner's eyes and then quickly nodded "y-y-yeah, okay, I-I will" he stammered out quickly.

"Well at least that's settled" the two turned to see Soul, Kid, and Black Star all with towels around their waists "so you _are_ coming in with us right?" Soul raised an eyebrow and then grinned when Crona slowly nodded "cool, well then we'll be outside waiting for you" they walked passed him and Soul patted Crona's shoulder as he walked by "this'll be good for you man, trust me."

Crona glanced back at them as they stepped out and stepped towards the pool attached to the wooden floorboards and then the embarrassed boy turned towards one of the available rooms left. He honestly couldn't believe that he was doing this. He always hated feeling exposed, he always felt that people would judge him or make fun of him if they saw the scars on his body, and yet here he was about expose his entire body-

_"They can barely see you, remember?"_ Ragnarok poked his insides.

Crona rolled his shoulders, trying to ignore his partner; Ragnarok just didn't understand; how could he? After the boy finished taking off the last of his clothes he grimaced and slipped on the towel then walked out into the steam. He saw that the others were out in the pool and were currently sitting ~or floating~ in an area with a couple rocks popping out of the water and must have been in a conversation about something funny, because they were currently laughing.

Soul noticed Crona standing at the edge of the water, clutching his towel tightly and waved at him "hey there man, it's about time!" he called, motioning for Crona to join them.

"I'll be in there in a minute" Crona looked around and saw a rock sticking up next to the floorboards to his right and moved towards it. Thankfully it blocked the view of the others so Crona was able to drop his towel and get into the water without much embarrassment.

He swam over to the others and after he found his footing on the rocks below he sat down on a relatively flat stone that was deep enough so only the tops of his shoulders were showing through the murky water.

The others smiled at him as he adjusted "so, how does it feel?" Kid inquired as Crona squirmed around a little until he found a comfortable position on the rock beneath him.

Crona was a somewhat uncomfortable on the stone, but after he relaxed enough he was able to let the feeling of the warm water sink into his skin and he sighed with content "it's… it's actually pretty nice" he closed his eyes smiled as the others nodded with grins of their own.

"See? I told you you'd enjoy it" Soul reached out and patted Crona's shoulder "yeah, this is just what you needed after all the crap you've gone through; good way to get rid of all that stress"

Black Star was smiling along with the others but then he frowned at Crona "you know, after how we explained it to you, I'd think you'd be running to get to this place, so how come you hung back with the girls at first?"

They noted with interest how the red on Crona's face deepened "oh, w-w-well, I uh, I-I just wanted to say bye to Tsubaki is all."

Kid raised an inquisitive eyebrow "Really? Well if that's the case, then why are you blushing?"

Crona lowered down to his neck in the water and turned his head "I-it's just the water-"

"Oh no it's not" Black Star waded over and turned Crona's head back "I know a blush when I see it, so spill" when Crona didn't answer Black Star gave him a shake "come on, just tell us, I won't let you go until you do" to show this he began shaking Crona a lot.

The poor boy was reduced to a dizzy mess in a few seconds "O! K! Just! Stop! Shak-ing! Me!" the boy managed to get out through the shakes. Black Star did and while Crona rubbed one of his shoulders he sank back up to his neck again. He looked at the other boys and their curious expressions and sank up to his chin looking really embarrassed "come on guys, do I really have to tell you?" he whined.

"It can't be that bad" Soul chuckled "I mean if it was then you wouldn't be blushing and we'd be getting tidal-waves over here from you shaking" Crona looked at him with a frown and the albino shrugged "hey, I've been around you long enough to figure out how you're feeling just by the way you're acting" he pointed at him "like right now, you're embarrassed cause your face is on fire, and I've seen that when you're worried you shake a little bit, and when you're full blown scared you're pale and shaking like crazy" he shrugged again "so that's how I know it can't be that bad."

Crona remained silent for a little bit before he sighed "alright… I… I stayed back to say bye to Tsubaki and…" he rubbed the back of his head "… I kissed her cheek."

Kid's eyebrows shot up for an instant of surprise but Black Star just frowned "that's it?"

Soul shared his blunt friend's expression "so what exactly are you so embarrassed about? You kissed her, big deal."

Crona was a little surprised by their reactions but at the moment his worry was at the top of his emotional food-chain "… I know… it's just… I'm worried about what she's thinking about because I did that" he sank down to his nose in the water.

Black Star chuckled "I don't think that's a problem, I mean if anything she'd be proud of you" Crona looked up at him from down in the water with a frown "listen Crona, she's been trying to get you used to trying new stuff so you wouldn't be scared of trying things out anymore; and so if you went and kissed _her_ cheek" he chuckled with a grin "well I'd think she'd be the happiest she's ever been."

_"Told you"_ Ragnarok jabbed his insides again; he really needed to stop that, it felt so _weird_.

Crona popped up so his mouth was out "do you really think that's how she's feeling?"

Kid nodded this time "Crona, it's obvious she cares about you, and I'm pretty sure you feel the same way, so I don't think she'd be anything but pleased about you kissing her."

"Seriously man, she was probably hopping with joy after you tore off after us" Soul chuckled and Crona smiled, holding back a small laugh. He couldn't imagine seeing her do that without laughing.

"Thanks guys" he relaxed on the stone again "this… it really helped out."

Soul patted his arm again with a smile "no problem man."

'~~~'

About a little less then an hour later the girls walked out of the massage parlor looking really relaxed and moved through the building to find one of the restaurants to get some lunch. They were just beginning their meals when the boys showed up. They were a bit surprised to find the girls in the same place they planned on but they waved the boys over to their table with smiles and grins.

"So how were the springs?" Maka inquired seeing their relaxed expressions.

It was actually Crona who answered "it was great" he smiled at Tsubaki and the others "you were right about the springs, I feel wonderful" he and the other boys sat down with their dates.

Tsubaki smiled right back at him as he sat down with her "I'm happy to hear that."

"So what about you guys? Were the massages alright?" Soul asked Liz.

She grinned and nodded "yeah, they were awesome; I haven't felt this good in forever."

The others nodded and agreed with her, and after a few more comments about what a great trip this has been, the boys ordered some food after the girls received their orders.

While they waited Crona looked around at the others and finally asked "so what exactly is the plan for the rest of the day?"

"Well, we were planning on going over to the springs after we finished here and then walk around for a while" Liz gestured to the other girls.

"And I was planning on going to get a manicure" Kid said and when all the boys gave him odd looks he shrugged "hey, perfectly symmetrical nails are hard to pass up" the others all chuckled and rolled their eyes.

"Then that just leaves us" Soul looked at Black Star and Crona "we can always head over to the massage parlor" he noticed how Crona's happiness seemed to deflate a bit and replace with anxiousness so he kept going "ooor we can go back to mine and Liz's room, I brought my Xbox with me just in case I didn't have anything to do" Crona visibly relaxed then frowned and before he even got to ask "an Xbox is something you play video games on" Crona raised a finger and Soul rubbed the bridge of his nose "a video game is something you play on the TV with a controller" Crona took a breath and Soul felt like he was going to strangle him "a controller is something you hold in your hands that controls a videogame!" Crona finally lowered his hand and the others burst out laughing as he smiled sheepishly.

"Um… I… I-I-I like that idea, it… it sound fun" Crona rubbed his arm as Soul took deep breaths.

"Great" Soul breathed out, rubbing his temples _"god, poor kid barely knows anything."_

"Alright then, if everyone's agreed, we'll head out and split up right after we're done here" Kid prepared himself as his and the other boys pizza showed up, such asymmetric food would be the death of him. He opened his eyes to look down at the monstrosity, but then frowned and sat upright, staring dumbfounded when he found himself looking down at a… perfectly symmetrical pizza "what is this?"

The other boys looked down at the pizza and their faces scrunched up with surprised confusion "…wow, that's spooky" Black Star tilted his head with a frown.

"H-how is that even possible?" Crona frowned towards the restaurants kitchen then back to the pizza "I… I-I'm scared to eat this" he shifted around in his seat "p-pizza shouldn't be that perfect."

"Well it's a good thing you aren't eating it then" Kid looked up at the other boys with an iron-resolve and Soul rolled his eyes "I won't allow any of you to ruin the symmetry of this perfect spectacle" his eyes were almost manic and Soul sighed.

_"Oh boy, this is gonna take a while."_

'~~~'

"So Tsubaki, you care to talk about what exactly happened last night after we left?" Liz asked out of nowhere when she and the girls entered the gate to the hot springs.

Tsubaki frowned at her friend then cast a withering glance at Maka who smirked with a shrug "what is it with all of you? Why do you all keep asking me every five minutes about me and him?"

Patty giggled and punched her friends shoulder "because we're curious, Crona's always such a scared little guy" she smiled "so we just wanna know what he's like when he's with you" she smirked "especially when you two _kiss_" she puckered up her lips into a big play kiss.

Tsubaki rolled her eyes as they stepped into the building and went to separate rooms to change out of their clothes "really Tsubaki, what's the harm in telling us, we'd tell you how we are with our boys if you asked!" Maka called.

"But that's just it! I wouldn't ask!" Tsubaki shook her head as she finished with the last of her things "what possible reason could I have for asking about you and your boys?"

"Oh come on Tsubaki!" she felt something soft land on top of her head and looked up to see the furry face of Blair in her cat form "please tell us?"

Tsubaki shook her head with another sigh "you all don't give up do you?" she wrapped a towel around herself and stepped out into the group and the other girls chuckled at her question.

"Our job doesn't let us give up Tsubaki, you know that" Maka laughed as they walked out to the water and with a poof of smoke Blair hopped in with them.

"You're all insane" she muttered, sinking into the relaxing water. She shook her head once again as the others circled her, sitting on a couple smooth rocks on the ground below them "… we just walked on the beach for a little while, threw shells, talked…"

"Aaaaand…" Blair waved her hand encouragingly.

"We talked… sat on the sand…" Tsubaki leaned back on a rock behind her before casting a glance at Liz "it was breezy last night and so he was cold in those skimpy clothes you guys made him wear" Liz shrugged with a smirk "and so I had him sit on my lap and I hugged him and, well, seeing as how Blair and Patty made some kind of bet and I already told Maka about it, you can probably guess what happened after that."

Liz smirked and crossed her arms "well, if a kiss is what happened out there then I think I've earned a thank you."

Tsubaki laughed at that and shook her head "fine, thank you for making Crona cold enough that I had to keep him warm" Liz stuck her tongue out and the others laughed. Tsubaki still had a smile when she looked back at Liz "but really though… thank you Liz, thank you for everything you've done with me and him."

Liz rubbed the back of her head with a sheepish smile "oh please, it's fine-"

"No really" Tsubaki sank into the water with a content sigh "it was your idea to get the two of us together, and because of that this past month has been some of the best time I've ever had."

Liz's smile softened "I'm glad that's the case, I had a feeling you two would be good together."

"And you were right" Tsubaki closed her eyes and thought back to her time with Crona "he's completely different from the other boys in the academy, where most of them are a bunch of perverted slobs, Crona's a timid, gentle, and polite guy" she chuckled to herself "like last night, I told him about how I hate how boys at the academy always talk about my body behind my back, and after we talked a bit more he called me pretty without even realizing it" she chuckled at the memory of how relaxed he was "and when I asked him about it he actually _apologized_ to me, afraid he had made me mad" she laughed some more and shook her head "I love that about him, he's so worried about making his friends happy, and always so quick to apologize at the slightest thought that he's done something wrong" she sighed "that's also something that's sad about him, the opinion of everyone he meets matter's so much to him."

"He's a good guy" Maka nodded and smiled "and I'm really glad the two of you got together Tsubaki, because from what I've seen, he been getting better and better from how he was before" she laughed a bit "I mean, kissing a girls cheek? Calling a girl _pretty_? I never would have thought Crona could ever do any of that."

"But he did" Tsubaki smiled, looking down at the water.

Blair noticed how Tsubaki's face turned a slight shade of pink darker and she smiled "the little sword-boy really makes you happy doesn't he?"

Tsubaki looked up at her and eventually nodded "when he says things like that, that I'm pretty, it makes me feel… well, I don't know… _special_" she looked back down at the water and thought about this with a smile "he's so timid and terrified of everything after all he's been through, so for him to say something like that, it would take so much courage" her smile grew "and he used it all in order to say it to _me_."

"He really likes you" Patty smiled at her when Tsubaki glanced at her "oh come on, don't tell me you haven't noticed the way he looks at you" she giggled "he's like a monkey staring at bananas whenever he looks at you."

Tsubaki shook her head "I don't know; he probably wouldn't understand liking someone even if he did."

Maka's look softened "Tsubaki, I know that he cares about you, we all do" she gestured to the other girls "the way he looks at you; the way he acts around you, always so much more happy then usual, and the way he talks about you when you're not around."

"Yeah, like that time about two weeks ago…" Liz began, sinking into the water "you remember those two days you were out sick? A little stomach bug or something" Tsubaki nodded and Liz chuckled at the memory of Crona's crestfallen look whenever someone brought Tsubaki up "he looked so lonely without you, he kept hoping you'd get better quickly whenever we brought you up" she and the other girls, minus Tsubaki, all laughed "he missed you _so_ much!"

Maka nodded at the memory "really, you should have been there Tsubaki, it was adorable."

Tsubaki looked at them blankly, not even noticing the small smile she had on her face "he was really that worried."

Patty shook her head with a laugh "well, worried isn't the right word" she poked at the side of her face with an absent expression "he just really missed you was all."

"And the next day, when you came back he was _so_ happy!" Blair laughed "my little Maka wanted some help with her loud-boy so Blair was there and could see the look on little Crona's face."

The other girls nodded and even Tsubaki remembered how Crona acted the day she returned, he seemed really happy "you two really do make a good pair, you know that right?" Liz asked patting her friend on the shoulder and then she smirked, crossing her arms "_damn_, I'm a fine matchmaker" the others snorted and laughed at the elder sister who just smiled and held her chin high.

After they had all calmed down Tsubaki looked around at her friends and relaxed back onto the rock behind her with a chuckle "you guys are the best… and I just wanted to say thanks for all your help with Crona."

Maka shrugged as the other girls smiled "hey, girls helping out their friend with her relationship is normal, it's what we're here for."

The others smiled at this and for a bit they just relaxed in the water. They just sat their thinking about how great this has all been, but then Liz frowned with her eyes still closed "huh… you know, come to think of it, I wonder what Soul, Crona, and Black Star are talking about right now" Liz's frown deepened as she thought about it and the others soon shared her expression "I mean, we're over here talking about you and Crona… you think they'd talk about their relationships like we are right now?"

The girls were all silent for a good minute as they thought about it. Their boys… sensitive talk about relationships… them being able to keep a straight face if Crona ever freaked out about a certain topic or two… "Nawww" they shook their heads in unison. If they understood anything about the insane individuals they decided they'd be with for the rest of their lives, it's that they weren't open about their sensitivity… well, maybe Crona…

'~~~'

"Ok, look…" Soul put the controller down on Crona's lap and pointed to all the various buttons as the screen glowed in front of the three boys "that's your trigger right there, that's how you aim your gun, that's your D-pad for equipment… " Soul pointed out all the different parts of the controller and their use then up at the screen where a split-screen private match for MW3 was already going "and this stuff's your health, grenades, bullets… and that's about it, you got all that?"

Crona tilted his head to the side as he stared down at the odd contraption in his hand and then nodded up at Soul "I think so."

Soul nodded "alright, we'll get you used to the controls and then maybe if you're good enough we can set you up for a solo round on multiplayer" Crona gave him an odd look and he sighed "playing against other people with this game" Crona made an 'ohhh' sound and looked back at the screen.

Soul sat down next to him and grabbed up his controller, then un-paused the game and he let Crona get adjusted as he ran across the map to find him "alright, I'm just gonna show you what happens when I shoot you, and just in case, hit the left button now and hold it" Crona curled his index finger and he saw his character scraping the tip of something in his other hand before he jumped up on the couch as it popped with green smoke.

And while Soul showed Crona about damage and killstreaks Black Star went to get them all sodas. He debated on the choices in the fridge, wondering what would appeal to Crona before shrugging and grabbing a couple Cherry-Cokes and then he turned to go back. Once he exited the kitchen and returned he saw that Crona and Soul had already started a new game and Crona was already ahead by two.

"So, how's it going?" Black Star set two of the Cokes down on the coffee table in front of Soul and Crona and cracked his own open.

Soul shrugged "he's doing pretty good for a beginner, he already got me twice with a sniper, though he missed a couple times before hitting me."

Black Star chuckled "and you just let him take pot-shots at you? Come on how is that training?"

"Hey, for your information I was far away, and I'm not gonna waste ammo trying to hit him that far-" Soul looked back to the screen when his side flashed red and cursed playfully when he saw that Crona had hit him with a headshot in one try.

Black Star snorted "wow Soul, Crona's really laying into you."

Soul shook his head with a smirk "oh please, this is nothing, I haven't even started trying yet" a boom came from the TV and Soul slapped his knee when his score went up "see?"

Black Star rolled his eyes and waved his hands "oooh, big bad Soul Eater blowing up barrels after he dies."

"Screw you man" Soul chuckled as Crona picked another load-out.

And so the two of them sat there for a bit, arguing with each other about Soul's skill before Black Star sat down in between Soul and Crona where they played a while longer until they finally decided to take a break. They sat there for a little bit, just talking about the game and how good Crona was for a first timer and then the conversation moved onto the trip, then it moved to how great it had been and how it was all a lot of fun. Now though, their conversation had moved onto the day before, about the volleyball match which then moved the topic onto the things Liz and Patty had made him wear.

Crona put his face in his hands and rubbed his temples while Soul and Black Star fell back on the couch gripping their sides. He had never felt as irritated with his friends before, but he was getting really close when there was a knock at the door. Crona got up and quickly moved to open it, thankful for an excuse to get away from that topic "sorry! I'll be just a second!"

"Don't worry, it's no problem" Crona opened the door up to see Kid inspecting his freshly manicured nails "they really do an excellent job here, my nails have never looked so perfect" he walked in and as Crona closed the door behind him he looked up to see the TV screen "Call of Duty? Really you two?" he shook his head as Soul and Black Star shrugged then walked over to them and leaned down to their ears "I can only hope you two don't plan on showing him the multiplayer, I don't think he could deal with the… colorful language aspects."

The two chuckled and Soul patted his friends shoulder "oh, don't worry, we weren't planning on doing that for a while."

Kid sighed "alright, fine, I don't care" he sat down on the edge of the couch "so other then this, what have you guys been doing?"

"W-we've just been talking" Crona sat down on the other side of the couch "about the trip."

"More specifically, we were talking about the stuff Liz made him put on" Soul chuckled while Crona grimaced as his shoulders sagged.

"You know, I don't think I ever asked you about it, what did Tsubaki think about Liz's choice of clothes for you?" Black Star eyed him curiously and the boy blushed a bit.

"She…" he looked down, getting ready for the laughs "she said I looked cute in it."

But instead Soul and Black Star just shifted around in their seats while Kid raised an eyebrow "cute?"

"Seriously man, I don't get it either!" Ragnarok came out of Crona's back and crossed his arms "she must have a thing for cross-dressers or something, because I don't see how he looked anything but weird."

"Ragnarok…" Crona looked up at his partner with irritation.

Soul cleared his throat "well… to be fair he _did_ look just like a girl in all that stuff."

Kid shrugged with a nod "and he did make a rather attractive girl" the others eyed him oddly ~though Crona's face was pale from the comment~ and he shrugged again then looked at Soul and Black Star "you can't honestly tell me you didn't think the exact same-"

"Guys! Can we _please_ pick another topic!" Crona whined "I don't know how to deal with people talking about me like this!"

The others chuckled while Ragnarok retreated into Crona's back "ok, ok, we'll stop" Soul patted his back with mock comfort.

"Well then what _should_ we talk about?" Kid eyed them curiously.

Black Star frowned, thinking about it "… you wanna talk about our relationships in a sensitive way?"

Crona was about to say he liked that idea, but then Soul and Kid shook their heads "nawww, I don't see myself being able to do that" Soul said, and Crona pouted, well there goes that idea.

"Alright, then… what about how awesome I am?" he suggested and the other three groaned.

…

The groups remained with each other for a few more hours, the girls finishing up at the springs then walking the beach, checking out the shops the resort had, while the boys played their games for a bit longer before walking the beach as well. When they all met up for dinner at one of the restaurants as the sun began setting, they were quite relaxed and _very_ tired from all their walking around.

"Hey guys" Tsubaki waved her hand a bit sluggishly, showing the boys where they were sitting and when they closed in she smiled at Crona "so, did you take care of him while we were gone?" she smiled in his direction.

Crona nodded, answering for the others "I had a lot of fun with them, it was nice" he sat down next to Tsubaki and the others followed suit with their dates "s-so what about you?"

Some of the girls shrugged "it was alright, we bought some nice clothes at the shops outside the resort on the beach and springs were awesome" Liz leaned on Soul's shoulder after he sat down "we got you guys some things too, I think you'll like them."

Crona shivered when she said that but Tsubaki laughed at his reaction and rubbed his back "don't worry Crona; I was the one who bought your things."

He breathed out in shaky relief "t-thank you! I don't think I could handle her making me wear anything else."

Liz waved the comment off "oh don't act like my choices are all that bad, besides, just like Tsubaki said before, you look cute in the things I choose."

Crona eyed the table, his face burning, while the others chuckled "it's true you know" Tsubaki poked his side playfully "you really were adorable in those outfits" all that did was make him even worse.

Once the waiter showed up with everyone's meals for the night he eyed the pink-haired boy with some concern "um, pardon me miss, but is he alright?" Crona was currently face down on the table, his head redder then a brick and everyone else at the table was looking at him, and from the look of their faces they were obviously struggling not to laugh.

The others let a few chuckles escape their lips but then Tsubaki nodded at the waiter "oh don't worry about him, this happens every now and then."

The waiter gave the boy one last concerned glance but when Crona sat upright with an embarrassed look on his face the man eventually shrugged "ok then, enjoy your meals" he set the plates down and left.

Tsubaki gave Crona another pat on the back and kissed his cheek "relax Crona, that's what today's all about."

He nodded and looked down at his plate, though the others could see the edges of his mouth curve up a fraction "ok, I'll try."

Tsubaki smiled then looked back down to her plate "ok guys, let's dig in."

"Sounds good to me" Black Star already had a big chicken leg in his hands when she said that.

Crona glanced at his friends as he ate and at first, he felt happy about them all sitting here enjoying their meals together with him. But then, as his thoughts progressed he felt a little pang of sadness when he thought about this being the last day of the trip and all. He kept his thoughts to himself however and only talked about happy thoughts like the things Tsubaki and the others chose to bring up, not wanting to ruin their night with his negative train of thought. The friends sat at the table for a bit after they finished their meals, leaning on their dates and relaxing for a few minutes, just talking with the others, but they all soon decided they should move, they didn't want to hold any of the other guest back from eating after them.

Liz and Soul were the first to get up and she stretched her arms up with a silent yawn "alright guys… ohhh man, I'm spent, I think me and Soul are gonna head back" Blair hopped up onto her shoulder and pressed into the girls neck "and Blair too I guess" she added with a chuckle.

The others nodded and Patty yawned "yeah, I'm pretty sleepy too" she grabbed Kid's hand and they got up together.

"Well before we all split up I think we should thank a certain someone for bringing us all here" Maka got up and gently punched Kid's arm "so yeah, thanks for bringing us here" she laughed with a shrug.

Kid smiled as the others followed suit with their thanks and he waved them off sleepily "don't worry about it, I know more then enough about how stressful it can be working for my father" he chuckled a bit as his arm went around Patty's waist "honestly, if it were up to me, I'd say something like this should be mandatory" he nodded to himself, zoning out into his thoughts "yeah, mandatory relaxation time, do it once every year and everyone can pick where they want to go…"

The others laughed as he and Patty walked out and they soon followed, then finally Tsubaki and Crona got up to leave too, though Crona stumbled for an instant before standing up straight, shaking himself, his legs had fallen asleep. As they walked Tsubaki loosely wrapped her arms around Crona's right one and he didn't even get tense or blush, he just smiled at her, and she smiled right back at him before leaning her head on the top of his shoulder. She could never get over what a tall boy he was for his age, he was only a little bit shorter then she was. Sure he was only two years younger then she was, but for a fourteen year old he had some height… when he wasn't slouched over trying to hide behind things that is.

Tsubaki, held back a chuckle when she thought about this, he hadn't done something like that in so long, she was so proud of him and she loved how he was so calm all the time now, like today for instance, he was the best he'd ever been since they had gotten together _"this trip was exactly what Crona needed, some quality time with his friends, and then some nice relaxation… even if all he did was go to a hot spring"_ she thought about that for a little while and then she slowly frowned _"huh, I wonder why he didn't go to the massage parlor?"_ she glanced up at him as they walked into the lobby and headed for the elevator _"Maka always told Black Star that if he needed something like a massage then she was free, Soul's always relaxed so he doesn't ever feel the need for it, and Kid thinks it isn't proper to do something like that when in a relationship for some reason"_ she eyed Crona curiously _"so what's his reason?"_

She didn't ask him though because honestly, it didn't matter and also because she didn't want to bother him with anything, he seemed happy and she didn't want to ruin that. So instead of asking that, she decided to go with something a little bit softer "sooo… this trip has been really great hasn't it?" she looked up at him as they entered the elevator.

He nodded with a big smile on his face "yes, it really was" his smile softened quite a bit and he looked at her with such a degree of happiness and appreciation that she got those thrilling goose-bumps across her arms "it was perfect."

She smiled back and hugged his arm a little more, giving him a caring squeeze "you have no idea how happy I am to hear that."

She leaned back onto his shoulder as they ascended and then they were silent for about a minute while the elevator took them up. When the door slid open and the resumed walking though Crona looked down at Tsubaki's hair "… hey Tsubaki?" she hummed in response "I… I wanted to say thank you, for convincing me to come with all of you that is, I-I'm really glad that you did."

"So am I" they stopped at their door and Tsubaki unlocked it "and not only did it end up helping you" she took his hand and pulled him in with her "but you and I bonded better then I could have ever hoped" she gave him a huge smile before her face suddenly scrunched up and she yawned. She reached up and rubbed her eye with the back of her wrist then laughed a little as she did it "I think we really _did_ overdue it today" she laughed again then moved towards the couch "it's a good thing we're back at the room I guess, I don't think I could stand up much longer" she practically just stopped walking and flopped onto the couch with a groan "ohhh, and this couch is _sooo_ comfortable."

Crona held his hand over his mouth as he looked down at her, holding back a laugh. He could never understand how such a proper girl like Tsubaki could be like this when she was tired "you and the girls must have gone on a really long walk" he sat down on the edge of the couch as she rolled over and held her arms over her face letting out a yawn. She only nodded in response and Crona smiled again before looking up at the window.

Tsubaki noticed how quiet he had gotten and when she lifted her arms up she saw that he was staring out at the darkening sky with a somewhat sad look on his face. She frowned at his upside down expression "Crona? Is something wrong?"

He twitched at her voice and shook himself seeming to come awake "w-what?"

She sat up and turned to face him "you looked sad a second ago, did something happen?"

He shook his head, breathing out in relief now that he knew nothing was wrong "no, l-like I said, today was perfect" he looked down at the couch, tracing small circles in the fabric "more then perfect."

She scooted over to him lowering herself so they were eye-to-eye "then what's the matter?"

He didn't look like he was about to answer, but then a certain bundle of annoyance came out of his back "he's just bummed out about how he has to go back to all the crap at the academy."

Crona looked up at him with irritation "Ragnarok-"

"Well you are!" he crossed his arms and turned "and I can understand why, what with all the assholes they got there."

"Ragnarok, please go" Crona looked up at him again and the demon waved his hand, shaking his head as he retreated. Tsubaki looked down at Crona who was now staring off to the side with an embarrassed look "I-I'm sorry about him."

Tsubaki smiled and wrapped her arms under his "oh, don't worry, it's alright" she hugged him from behind and ran her hand over his front, he felt tense. She felt a sudden pang of guilt because of this _"great, nice job Tsubaki"_ she chastised herself. She wondered about what she could do to help him but not much came to mind. She thought about it a little more and her line of thought backtracked a little to what she was thinking in the elevator "hey Crona?" he hummed this time "how come you didn't try out the massage parlor?"

He turned his head to glance at her oddly, but eventually shrugged "I don't know I just… I just didn't like the way it sounded."

"Why's that?"

He rolled his shoulders somewhat uncomfortably "I didn't like the idea of taking my clothes off and… having some random person touching me."

Tsubaki was able to keep back a laugh. He was right, the way he described it didn't sound very appealing "it isn't like that Crona, it's all professional with those people, they would never try anything, and besides, you can wear underwear" he shrugged again, not believing her much and she gave him another squeeze "hey Crona?" he hummed again "would it be alright with you if I did it?"

"W-what?" he turned his head quickly and looked at her with confusion "w-why would you want to do that?"

She shrugged and yawned again "… after Maka beat Asura… and after we all got out of the hospital, Black Star had a problem getting over everything that happened" she began slowly and Crona frowned back at her because of the sudden story that had started up "you couldn't tell by seeing him, but he was really torn up inside because of what had happened to Maka and the others, how much Asura had hurt all of them" she rested her chin on his shoulder and thought back "he kept blaming himself about what happened, saying that he wasn't strong enough to keep her and the others safe, and so I decided to help" she shifted, hugging Crona closer at the memory "now, this was before he and Maka had finally confessed to each other and got together so Maka couldn't help him at the time, but I knew about how he felt and I wanted to make him feel better about what happened" she leaned up against the couch with Crona and let him turn around before she continued "and so I came up with something that took a little bit of what my mother always did with me when I was feeling down" Crona had to remember to find Tsubaki's mother and talk with her, she sounded like a very good person "I already knew about how a massage was a good way to help with stress, and whenever I felt down, my mother and I would sit down and just talk about what had me feeling so bad and she would tell me why I shouldn't have to worry about those things."

"So you put it together and helped him?" Crona guessed and Tsubaki smiled with a laugh.

She nodded "I had him lay down and while I was giving him a little massage I'd ask him about everything that was making him feel so bad and he told me about how he thought he let Maka and the others down, about how what a poor god he had to be to let things get that bad" she smiled and traced the lines in Crona's sweater "and I would tell him how everything he was saying was wrong, and how he did the best he could, and how he and Kid saved Maka's life when Asura transformed into that giant thing" she smiled at him "he got better after the first try… and so, I want to do the same with you now, only I want to know about everything you don't like about the academy, and why you're so sad about going back" she pulled him into a soft hug "or better yet, I want you to tell me about everything bad in your life, I want to help you forget all of it."

Crona was silent for a while as he digested all of this while Tsubaki backed up "you… you're sure it wouldn't be any trouble?" he rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish laugh "I-I mean… t-that's a long list you're asking for."

She just smiled at him "then we should get started shouldn't we?"

"Tsubaki, r-really, you don't have to-" she put a finger to his lips cutting him off.

"We've gone through this song and dance so many times before, but I'm ok but with saying it again" she smiled at him as he looked down with a blush but she put her finger to his chest so he looked back up "I. Want. To. Help. You" she tapped him softly with each word "no one is forcing me to help you, you aren't wasting any of my time, and in fact, nothing would make my day better then to help take care of every negative thing in your soul once and for all" she leaned in and kissed his forehead "I mean that from the bottom of my heart, and I want you to believe it more then anything."

Crona stared at her smiling face for a good amount of time before he finally gave in and nodded "alright… I-I'll… I-I'll try this."

Her smile grew and she rubbed his shoulder "great" she stood up and they rubbed her stiff legs before she led him to the bedroom, then she stood off to the side poking at her cheek with an almost embarrassed expression and Crona frowned at her "I… never asked Black Star to do it with whatever top he was wearing when we did this… but seeing as how you and I are together and all… you can go ahead and take your sweater off" his eyebrows shot up with surprise at the request so she quickly added "you don't have to if you don't want to!" she turned, feeling even more embarrassed now for asking that, damn her sleepy mind, she needed to think before she spoke! "It's just a suggestion."

He was still surprised by the request but as he thought about it he managed to push his shyness back and reached towards the bottom of his sweater. He was somewhat reluctant at first, but he just put one thought through his mind over and over again _"it's Tsubaki- it's Tsubaki- it's Tsubaki, she won't say anything about the scars, you know that, she would never do or say anything to hurt you"_ he gripped the bottom of his sweater hard, but with a sigh, the tension in his hands and arms subsided and he pulled it off.

He got onto the bed, grabbed a pillow, then put it on top of his crossed arms and put his chin down as Tsubaki sat down beside him and put her hands on his back. They were both silent, embarrassed by how intimate it had suddenly gotten, but Crona broke the silence "so… what do you want to talk about first?"

She thought about it hard, wondering which topic would be best, and finally decided on asking about something she's always told him about "how about we start with your body, about why you're afraid of letting people see you exposed in any way?"

He sighed as she began rubbing his shoulders "Medusa always used to say things whenever she saw the scars, sometimes she would smack me when she saw them, sometimes she'd kick me, but she _always_ said that I was weak, pathetic, and useless because I let all of that happen" his grip tightened on his arm underneath the pillow "and she did it so much that… that I'm afraid everyone else I'll meet will do the same."

"So you're afraid people will make fun of you because of your scars?" he nodded "well I don't see why you should be afraid about all of that" she moved her hands lower down his back and gently pressed into it "Medusa was a monster, and I can tell you that no one at the academy would ever make fun of you because of scars, in fact…" she smiled as she felt the tension slowly leave "the students at the academy see scars as marks to be proud of, and do you want to know why?"

"Why?"

"Because each scar showed that they survived the battle that gave it to them" she traced one of the many faded cuts that lined his back "and do you know what all of these scars of yours would tell them? It would tell them that you have gone through so much, it would tell them that you have gone through so many battles, enduring so much pain, and it would show them that you survived all of it" she moved back up to his shoulders and was glad to feel him relaxing "you survived everything Medusa put you through, your body survived, your mind survived, and that innocent soul inside of you that all of us can see today survived too" she smiled down at him as he breathed out "so… what's next on the list?"

"The… the other students at the academy" he began and he visibly sagged underneath her hands "they're all afraid of me, that or they hate me, I know that."

She nodded at this "I can understand why" she felt some tension come back "when I first saw what you had done to Soul and Maka and even Professor Stein, I was scared of whatever could have hurt them to that extent, terrified even" her look saddened at the memory that came next "but then, Maka saved you, she pushed all the evil Medusa forced into you, and brought the real you out, and the things we learned that had happened to you in the past, it made us feel so bad for the way we thought about you" she leaned down and kissed the back of his head "so let me explain it to you, the only reason the other students see you the way they do, is because they don't know, they have no idea about what you went through" she pressed her hands and squeezed his shoulders reassuringly "and so you know what Crona? I am going to try and change all of that, I'll tell the others about it too, and we will go through the academy, talking to our friends and showing them who you really are, and we'll tell them to spread the word" she brushed the back of his neck with her thumb "I promise you that" she smiled and ran her hands over his back again "ok, you feeling better yet?"

He nodded very gingerly, as if he was barely awake, and he actually was in fact, his eyelids were steadily drooping "yeah… yeah, I really am."

"So what's left? Can you think of anything else that's eating at you?"

He was silent for a while and at first Tsubaki thought that he had fallen asleep. She smiled down at him, but just as she was about to get up and put him under the covers he sighed again "no one loves me" he said that with such surety and calm that Tsubaki actually flinched at the sudden horrible exclamation "no one ever will" he sounded like he was on the verge of sleep, and that no doubt explained why he sounded so casual about his statement.

She was too shocked to say anything at first but when she recovered she felt so much anger rise up that it nearly scared her "what are you talking about!" she saw him jolt and he turned to look at her "how could possibly you think something like that?"

"W-what? W-what do you mean?" he seemed confused, but that didn't do anything to calm the flame that was burning inside Tsubaki.

She jabbed him so hard in the chest that he winced and rubbed the spot "you just said that nobody loves you, do you have _any_ idea how wrong you are?" she felt like screaming at him, but she thankfully didn't want to disturb the others "you have so many people that love you Crona, and I don't understand how you could be so blind when it came to all of them" she jabbed him again "like Miss Marie and Professor Stein, do you have any idea how much those to care about you?" she shook her head as he rubbed his chest, too surprised to speak "those two think the world of you, so much even that they're planning on asking you to come live with them after they went through with their marriage plans!"

Crona stared at her blankly as he took that in "they… Miss Marie and Stein… they're getting married?"

Some of the flame in Tsubaki's chest had died down and she looked off to the side "me and Miss Marie sit and talk every now and then about you, about the kind of things you like… because of her and Stein's plan for you" she breathed out and rubbed her forehead "they haven't announced it yet, but they really have their hearts set on getting married" she looked up at him, and the anger at his statement was coming back and it was evident in her stare "and she told me that after they went through with it, that they wanted to adopt you, and then try to be the parent's that you've deserved for so long! So tell me! Would someone that didn't love you really try to do something like that?"

"… You're serious?" he looked and sounded amazed "you're really serious about that?"

She looked at him with the same irritation from before "why would I lie about something like that? And you know what? I'm not done yet!" she jabbed him yet again "you have no idea how the others feel about you, do you?" she almost sounded like she was accusing him of something "they all love you just as much as Stein and Marie, and they all think of you as a little brother that they need to take care of!" she jabbed him one last time, and this was by far the hardest "and further more! What about me? Do you honestly think that I'm only with you because it's fun?" she shook her head as he stared at her with shock and confusion, what was she saying "I love being with you Crona! You make me happy just by being with me, and everything you say to me makes me happy, and I want nothing more then to make you feel the same way!"

"… Tsubaki-"

"No, just save it" he saw the sadness in her eyes and she shook her head again "Crona, you have been hurt, you have been abused, and left alone for so long, but you didn't let it change you, even after everything you went trough you still try to make other people happy" she looked him in the eye "and in all of that time, you've never heard one thing… and it was just three little words… three little words that could have helped you through every last bit of pain you've gone through" she reached out and rested her hand over his "Crona, I love you, do you understand me? I love you so much, and I want you to be happy. I want you to feel normal even when you think you aren't, I want you to smile all the time by getting rid of everything that makes you sad, and I want to be with you."

He blinked "Tsubaki… I…" he shook his head "I-I don't… don't know what to say."

She slid her arms under his and hugged him close "then don't say anything Crona, you don't have to say anything as long as you understand what I'm telling you" she hugged him tightly and she felt something wet hit her shoulder.

"Tsubaki?" she felt and heard him take a shaky breath "how come… how come people cry when they're happy?"

She gently ran her hand over his back as he rubbed his eyes "I don't know."

"Neither do I" he shook his head, taking another breath "I-I mean… I-I-I don't even know what love feels like, s-so how come I feel so happy right now?" he hugged her close as if he could get an answer from doing it "I don't get it."

She backed up and looked him in his red-rimmed eyes and smiled "and like I've said before" she reached up and cupped his cheek "I'm here to help you learn how to deal with things, and I'm going to help you know what being loved feels like, just like I did with everything else" she brushed a tear away with her thumb "I promise I'll help you understand" she backed up but left her hands on his shoulders and gave him a comforting squeeze as he reached up and rubbed his eyes more "it's ok Crona, everything is ok, because we're with each other right now, and nothing is going to change that."

He sniffled and reached up, taking one of her hands "hey Tsubaki? I… I'm really tired right now" he smiled at her and she smiled back, though part of him looked sad "is this real?" he sniffed again, squeezing her hand "I-I'm afraid that I'm sleeping right now, and that this is just a dream."

Tsubaki smiled softly "maybe… do you want me to show you that it isn't?" before he could even answer she leaned in and pressed her lips to his. She didn't go any further then that, not wanting him to feel like he was being taken advantage of, but that was fine. Just the feeling of his lips was enough to make her feel good as they both closed their eyes. She stayed with him there for a good amount of time and when she broke away she smiled "so… did that feel real?" He only nodded in response and she chuckled "well, you said you were sleepy" she was still holding his hand and she rubbed his shoulder with her free one "how about we go to sleep?" she smiled and then kissed his forehead "and after we wake up, and go back to the academy, I promise you that me, and Maka, and Soul, and all of the others will make it better" she helped him up and pulled the covers back "we'll help you get over any fear you have left about your body" she helped him in "we'll show all the other students what a great person you are" she shut the light off "and I'll tell you that I love you, everyday, from now on" she got in after him "goodnight Crona" she hugged him under the covers "I love you."

Crona smiled in the dark, his eyes closed as he drifted back "I… I love you too."

Tsubaki smiled and kissed his forehead on more time "I'm happy to hear that."

And they drifted off together into peaceful sleep, in each other's arms, and feeling the happiest they had ever felt. And why shouldn't they? They were two people in love after all.

* * *

_**ALRIGHT! I! AM! DONE!**_

_** Boom! Eight chapters. Finally finished. And I hope each and every one of you liked it.**_

_** So yeah, now that this part is done, I'll be moving on to the next chapter of my other story, Soul Eater Vs The Supernatural. And before any of you ask, I'm going to be starting the next part of this story, after I'm done with my Ouran Highschool Host Club crossover. I hope that this ending will satisfy you until then.**_

_** Tell me what you think guys. SDL out.**_


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